Two matches, six sets, zero wins.

Northwestern set out on a two-day road trip to face No. 19 Michigan and Ohio State on Friday and Saturday with hopes of turning a somewhat dismal season around for the better.

Instead the Wildcats suffered two brutal 3-0 losses. NU never seemed to have the momentum in either match.

The loss in straight sets to the Wolverines (20-6, 8-6 Big Ten) was not particularly surprising – the first matchup between the two squads was a home game for the Cats (8-17, 2-12), which the Wolverines also swept.

The Ohio State match was a more winnable one for NU.

But by the time the Cats left Columbus, Ohio, both teams’ records were even at 2-12, and the Buckeyes (11-15, 2-12) had recorded their first 3-0 victory of the Big Ten season.

The defense struggled against Ohio State, totaling only three blocks and allowing a .422 hitting percentage. For the season, the Ohio State’s average was a pedestrian .209.

The Buckeyes’ Katie Dull led all scorers in both games with 18 kills.

The Cats’ offense never managed more than 21 points in any of its six games.

A few players contributed good performances – sophomore Brittani Gray’s 12 kills against Michigan was the high mark in the two games, and sophomore setter Elyse Glab moved further up the all-time standings for assists, totalling 34 and 30 assists in the two matches.

Senior Chelsy Hyser had 18 kills in the two games to go with only two errors.

After going down 2-0 in each match, the Cats put up poor performances in the third and decisive sets. NU lost 25-17 and 25-18. In those two sets, the Cats managed 20 kills while committing 17 errors.

-Rodger Sherman