Northwestern had a mixed weekend on the road, cleanly sweeping Rutgers in a 3-0 victory Friday, before avoiding a sweep but eventually suffering a 3-1 loss Saturday at Penn State.
The first set against Rutgers was a tight battle for points between the teams’ respective outside hitters the whole way through, especially graduate student outside hitter Ayah Elnady and Rutgers’ Aspen Maxwell. Elnady was assisted in the fight by senior hitter Rylen Reid, who gave the team an early boost from a three kill streak.
A Rutgers service error brought the Wildcats (12-6, 2-4 Big Ten) to set point, 24-22, but Scarlet Knights (10-8, 1-5 Big Ten) senior Lexi Visintine fended it off with a kill to a hole in NU’s defense. After a brief NU timeout, Elnady clinched a 25-23 set with a decisive kill.
The second set is where it truly became a game of runs, with NU dominating. After a timeout by Rutgers with the home side trailing 8-2, Maxwell came back to end the ’Cats’ six-point run with a kill.
Despite some aggressive attacks by Rutgers middle blocker Zora Hardison, a combination of service errors by Rutgers and kills by NU allowed the score to creep to 19-11 before a four-point Rutgers run tightened the gap. After an NU timeout, the ’Cats matched it with a four-point run of their own, closing the second set with a stuff from junior outside hitter Campbell Paris and junior middle Gabrielle Gerry.
In the third set, service errors on both sides were prevalent, right up until the final moments of the set, which featured a tight back-and-forth beyond 25.
A kill by Hardison brought her team to set point, 24-22, which Reid saved with a kill of her own. After a bad set by Rutgers setter Lily Bolen on the second Scarlet Knights set point, a solo block by freshman middle Kayla Kauffman delivered the Wildcats their own set point.
Despite a service error by freshman outside hitter Bella Bullington, which restored parity, Reid managed another kill to bring the ’Cats back to set point. Rutgers outside hitter Tara Garvey came back from a timeout with a kill, but another Kauffman block regained the set point.
Fighting back with a dump kill by setter Aly Borellis for Rutgers and a block by Hardison and Visintine, the Scarlet Knights were again denied set point, this time by two Elnady kills. With the score 29-28, a deep hit by Hardison was challenged by NU coach Tim Nollan to seal the set and the match in a clean 3-0 victory.
Fresh off their hard-fought sweep, the ’Cats approached the Saturday game against the Nittany Lions (10-6, 4-2 Big Ten) with intensity, exchanging points in the first set until a four-point run by Penn State put it ahead 14-8.
Multiple service errors from both sides, as well as kills by Penn State’s Maggie Mendelson and Kennedy Martin, brought the set to a set point at 24-16. Though a kill by Gerry and an ace by junior libero Drew Wright fended it off twice, a kill by Penn State outside hitter Caroline Jurevicius sealed the set for the Nittany Lions.
The ’Cats took the first point of the second set with a hitting error by Mendelson, but Penn State quickly broke away on a six-point run, with two blocks from Martin and middle blocker Jordan Hopp.
Each team’s top hitters traded service errors and kills as NU attempted to dig itself out of a four-to-five point deficit, until a service error by Wright gave Penn State set point. Bullington delivered a kill, but it only postponed Penn State’s victory as it took the set 25–20 with a Jurevicius kill.
An ace by senior setter Lauren Carter began the third set, but it was met by a kill and an ace from the Nittany Lions. Yet another back-and-forth began, with Elnady, Bullington and Reid battling their Penn State counterparts, Kennedy and Jurevicius. After two crucial NU blocks, an ace by Bullington won the Wildcats the set 25-20.
Bullington stayed hot on the first point of the fourth set, this time with a kill. A similar pattern emerged as the ’Cats fought the Nittany Lions, remaining within roughly two points of each other all the way up to the score tying 14-14.
From there, attack errors, a Penn State ace, and three consecutive kills from Mendelson sent the Nittany Lions on two four-point runs, boosting the score to 23-16. Jurevicius made an attack error, but came back with a kill to bring the team to match point, and she sealed the set and the match with another one — final score 25-16.
The ’Cats next return to action against Michigan (12-5, 2-4 Big Ten) on Thursday at 8 p.m. in a home clash that will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
Email: [email protected]
Related Stories:
— Volleyball: Northwestern falls 3-1 to No. 10 Minnesota, 3-1 to Michigan State
— Volleyball: Wildcats secure first Big Ten victory of season over Oregon in tense five-set thriller
— Volleyball: Northwestern drops Big Ten opener to Indiana in four sets
