Senior outside hitter Buse Hazan was the star for Northwestern as the Wildcats (13-6, 3-4 Big Ten) went the distance in their win over Michigan at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Thursday. 

NU pulled off the win without senior outside hitter Rylen Reid, who leads the team in kills with 211.

The result served as a bounce-back for the ’Cats, who lost in four sets at No. 19 Penn State on Saturday and had lost four of their last six coming into Thursday’s contest.

Making her first appearance since Sept. 13 against Niagara due to Reid’s absence, Hazan led NU with 17 kills on the night, while also recording a career high six blocks. Graduate student outside hitter Ayah Elnady chipped in with 13 kills and nine digs. This was Elnady’s fourth consecutive game with double-digit kills. 

Defensively, freshman libero Lauren Dignan led the team in digs with 13.

The first set got off to a sloppy start for both teams. The Wolverines (12-6, 2-5 Big Ten) recorded three separate service errors in their first six attempts. NU responded with three of its own throughout the early stages of the set. 

Freshman outside hitter Bella Bullington and Elnady were the focal points of NU’s offense in the first set. Bullington recorded two consecutive kills to level the game at 10-10 early on, and her fourth kill of the set put the ’Cats up 20-19. 

Michigan middle blocker Serena Nyambio tallied four kills in the first set, but it was her service error, Michigan’s fifth of the set, that gave NU the first set by a 25-23 margin.  

The second set picked up much where the first set ended as Bullington recorded her fifth kill of the night. 

Michigan’s offense settled into a rhythm near the middle of the set. Nyambio and sophomore middle blocker Jenna Hanes recorded back-to-back kills to give Michigan the 13-10 lead.  

But NU was able to wrestle back momentum. Dignan recorded two huge digs off of monstrous hits from Nyambio, and Hazan finished off a lengthy multi-play rally to continue her big day and tie the set at 14-14.

With Michigan holding two set points, Elnady’s fourth kill of the game made the score 24-23. But a block attempt on the ensuing play sailed out of bounds, giving Michigan the second set and tying the match at one apiece.

The third set was defined by runs from both teams. Michigan came out firing to start the third set, taking a quick 4-0 lead with back-to-back aces by outside hitter Ella Demetrician. Elnady would respond with her fifth kill of the contest to put NU on the board in the set, and she delivered another huge kill to cap off a 5-0 NU run that gave the ’Cats a 5-4 lead.

Michigan’s offense found its footing once again, with the Wolverines going on two more 4-0 runs in the middle of the set. 

A setting error by setter Allison Jacobs gave NU the ball back, and the ’Cats responded with seven consecutive points, clawing back from down 15-8 to tie it up at 15-all. A monster block from junior outside hitter Campbell Paris to make the score 15-12 was the highlight of the run.

But the ’Cats couldn’t keep up the offensive production throughout the rest of the set. NU committed numerous attack errors and saw many of its swings blocked as Michigan scored nine of the last 11 points, including seven in a row to close out the third set.

The fourth set was more reminiscent of the first two, with no team going ahead by more than three at any point. Nyambio continued to spearhead the Michigan effort — she recorded her eighth block of the night early in the set and notched four total kills in the period.

Elnady’s tenth kill of the game was a strike to the back right Michigan zone that tied the set up at 9-9. 

NU finally took the lead at 16-15 after a block by Campbell Paris, which was set up by yet another impressive dig by Dignan.

The difference in serving continued to show, as a Nyambio service error was immediately followed by an Elnady ace that gave NU an 18-17 lead.

With the score tied at 22-22, Michigan committed consecutive attack errors to set up NU at set point. The ’Cats would only need one attempt to close out the set. Elnady recorded her first block of the game on a big hit from Nyambio to send the game into a decisive fifth set.  

Welsh-Ryan Arena was raucous for the start of the fifth set. The crowd was able to cheer an Elnady ace and a Paris kill early on, but Michigan held a 6-4 lead when the first timeout of the set was called, thanks to back-to-back blocks by Nyambio and setter Morgan Burke. 

Michigan went on a 3-0 run to make the score 10-6. Paris then recorded a block and kill on consecutive plays, before an attack error brought the score within one.

Hazan’s monster night continued as she recorded three kills in a row to put NU up 13-12. Gerry’s first kill put the ’Cats up 14-12 and brought up match point, before the player launched a huge hit to Michigan’s mid right zone to record her 17th kill of the night and cap off the thrilling win for NU.

The ’Cats currently sit 11th in the conference and will hope this win can help them find momentum as they prepare to play three of the top four teams in the Big Ten this coming week. The ’Cats’ next action is a home match against rivals Illinois on Sunday.

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