Northwestern defeated Iowa in four sets Wednesday, snapping its five-game losing streak.
The Wildcats (4-11, 2-5 Big Ten) beat the Hawkeyes (9-10, 3-4 Big Ten) 3-1 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Junior middle blocker Kennedy Hill led the team with 12 kills while hitting .632 and picking up six blocks.
“I felt the team did a really good job of preparing for this match,” coach Tim Nollan said. “We understood what they were gonna do and how we had to defend. [We] weren’t perfect, for sure, but I really liked the intensity and the focus, especially for the first two sets.”
Sophomore outside hitter Lily Wagner added another nine kills and seven digs. Junior outside hitter Rylen Reid and graduate student middle blocker Sophia Summers were productive at the service line, recording six and five kills, respectively.
With 23 assists in the evening, graduate student setter Alexa Rousseau moved into fifth in career assists in program history. Rousseau also added four kills and nine digs.
“She’s our Swiss Army knife in the sense that, some matches we need a lot of points, (and) she scores them,” Nollan said. “Some matches we need a lot of blocking. She’ll do that. Some matches, she’s great from the service line.”
Iowa got off to an early lead in the first set, before back-to-back aces from Summers tied things up. With the set tied at 11, the ’Cats went on a 3-0 run, punctuated by a block from Summers and junior outside hitter Kathryn Randorf. Two points away from an NU first set victory, the Hawkeyes went on a 4-0 run, but fell short of a comeback by virtue of consecutive service errors and handing the ’Cats the set 25-22.
The second set started closely, with two more aces from Summers giving the ’Cats the lead 5-7. NU extended its lead on plays from Rousseau and Hill, alongside three kills from Wagner. Reid also got in on the action, tallying two kills and two aces during the second set. Another block from Summers and Randorf sealed the two-set lead as the ’Cats won 25-13.
The third set started slowly for the ’Cats, while Iowa’s offense seemed to settle in, hitting .280 to NU’s .154. Another batch of back-to-back aces from Reid couldn’t slow the Hawkeyes down, while the ’Cats racked up five attack errors and three service errors. Despite a last-minute comeback attempt by the Wildcats, Iowa took the third set 25-19.
“A lot of our focus was intensity throughout the match,” Hill said. “It’s very easy to kind of get lost in the game and get a little bit too focused, but we were saying to ourselves, ‘We need to get back into our flow state.’”
But the ’Cats were forced to play catch-up early on in the fourth set. NU tied the game at six and the two teams traded points until a kill by Rousseau gave the ‘Cats an edge. Iowa fought back, but the ’Cats’ retained their lead.
A missed serve from the Hawkeyes sealed NU’s second conference victory of the season, 25-22.
The ’Cats will be back in action against UCLA on Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Middle blocker Leilani Dodson, who transferred out of NU last year, will make her return to Evanston.
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