Entering Thursday night’s clash with St. Thomas high on a six-game winning streak, Northwestern was halted firmly in its tracks, outclassed in every department by its inspired non-conference visitors en route to a 25-15, 25-17, 25-20 defeat.
The Wildcats (9-2, 0-0 Big Ten) were overpowered throughout the night by a Tommies (7-3, 0-0 Summit League) attack which recorded a season-high .412 kill percentage. That figure is by far the highest NU has given up this season, with its next-highest kill percentage allowed coming in at .268 in a five-set defeat to then-No. 20 Baylor.
“We had a real hard time at first contact, both serving and passing,” coach Tim Nollan said following the match. “Their offense was really in sync and ours wasn’t.”
The ’Cats started off on steady footing, jumping out to an 8-6 lead. But, after St. Thomas won the next four points on the trot, the floodgates opened. The Tommies went on a 14-4 run in the middle of the set, forcing Nollan to call a timeout with NU trailing 20-12.
When the ’Cats did manage to break serve, they often followed it up with a self-inflicted error.
After graduate student outside hitter Ayah Elnady notched a kill to bring the score to 17-12, she netted her serve on the very next point. When junior outside hitter Campbell Paris slammed home a kill out of the timeout to make it 20-13, junior libero Drew Wright served long immediately after.
“We needed to do a better job of controlling the controllables,” Nollan said. “Serving, hitting our targets, passers just talking about lining up, starting in defensive spots.”
St. Thomas closed out the set 25-15, and the contrasting dynamics as the squads huddled in between sets told a powerful story.
On one end, Nollan crouched below his players giving instructions before conferencing with his assistants and intently studying his clipboard and tablet, searching for answers. On the other, St. Thomas players casually sang along to 2014 hit “Am I Wrong” by Norwegian duo Nico & Vinz, blasting from the Welsh-Ryan Arena speakers. The visitors’ relaxed attitude throughout the evening bled into their sense of poise and control on the court.
NU briefly appeared to have righted the ship in the embryonic stages of the second set, as kills by junior middle blocker Gabrielle Gerry and freshman outside hitter Bella Bullington propelled it to a 4-0 lead.
But, a timeout by Tommies coach Thanh Pham swiftly restored the match to its previous state, as his side responded with a 9-3 run. After its early burst, NU failed to win over two consecutive points for the rest of the set. By the time Tommies outside hitter Anya Schmidt’s arrowed serve went through an attempted dig from Elnady on set point, the ’Cats looked overmatched.
“Unfortunately, tonight we ran into a St. Thomas team that played really well,” Nollan said. “Give them credit — they didn’t hit below .400 in a single set.”
The third set brought more of the same St. Thomas dominance. The Minnesota outfit embarked on a 10-1 run that pushed it into a 13-4 lead.
Only when the match looked most out of reach did the ’Cats spark into life, winning five consecutive points to bring the set to within four points at 18-14. But their efforts proved too little too late.
A kill from Tommies middle blocker Emma Goerger sealed a seventh-straight victory for St. Thomas, who only began competing in Division I athletics in 2021 and was instated as an official DI member this summer.
For NU, the defeat serves as a wake-up call following a stellar start to its non-conference slate. Nollan said the team struggled to adapt to the routine of playing at home in only its second contest in Evanston and its first with fall classes underway.
“It’s something we need to get better at,” Nollan said. “That’s why you have non-conference games to learn those things.”
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