Despite the balmy California weather in contrast to Evanston’s chill, all was not “California Dreamin’” for the Wildcats (15-11, 5-9 Big Ten) on their Los Angeles weekend road trip. The team suffered two harrowing losses at the hands of USC on Thursday and UCLA on Saturday.
Led by freshman outside hitter Bella Bullington and senior outside hitter Rylen Reid, the ’Cats clawed the first set from the Trojans (18-5, 9-4 Big Ten).
Scrappy defense by both teams kept the set close until NU managed to pull away as an attack error by Trojan middle blocker Mia Tvrdy brought set point at 24-21. Though USC outside hitter London Wijay defended it with a kill, Reid responded with a kill of her own, capturing the set for the ’Cats.
USC took the lead as the second set entered double digits, marking the beginning of the end for NU. Despite the ’Cats’ two runs that recovered the deficit within two points toward the end, the Trojans’ strong presence at the net managed to shut down the NU offense. Two kills by USC middle blocker Rylie McGinest won them the set 25-21.
In the third set, two service errors and two consecutive aces by graduate student outside hitter Ayah Elnady got NU out to an early 4-1 lead. However, Wijay and opposite hitter Abigail Mullen took control of the game, racking up kills to boost the score to a commanding 24-16 advantage, before Mullen won the set with a kill.
The two teams stayed closer in the fourth set, exchanging aces, kills and decisive blocks as Bullington and graduate student middle blocker Bella Simkus, aided by Elnady and Reid, continued to battle Wijay and Mullen at the net.
Elnady defended USC’s match point at 24-22 with a well-placed kill to the corner, but the Trojans prevailed with a kill by Mullen to win the set 25-23 and the match 3-1. The result marked their seventh consecutive win.
Saturday’s showdown against the Bruins (14-10, 8-6 Big Ten) was an edge-of-your-seat drama through all five sets.
UCLA got out to an early lead in the first set with middle blocker Phekran Kong dominating. Though NU’s offensive line fought back valiantly, the ’Cats found themselves at the bottom of a nine-point hole with the score 20-11 and the end of the set in sight.
Three kills by junior outside hitter Campbell Paris helped the ’Cats on a run to 22-17, but a contentious service error by junior libero Drew Wright and a kill by middle blocker Marianna Singletary brought the Bruins to set point. Senior setter Lauren Carter defended it with a smooth dump, but Kong tooled a kill off the block to win the set 25-18 for the Bruins.
To start the second set, UCLA broke away on a five-point run. Just as NU inched back to parity, the Bruins went on another, launched by outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette’s precisely placed kills, to restore the five-point deficit.
Reid, recently recovered from a lower-body injury, left the game partway through the second set and was replaced by senior outside hitter Buse Hazan, who quickly left her mark on the game.
The ’Cats retaliated with an impressive seven-point run, fueled by Hazan’s four kills, putting the ’Cats marginally ahead 16-15. Several kills by Elnady helped retain the lead until a blistering kill by Hazan brought set point at 24-20, which was then sealed by a tip that went wide.
Not to be outdone, the Bruins supplied an eight-point run to kick off the third set. Kong worked with junior outside hitter Maggie Li to nudge the score up to a distant 23-11, before the latter served into the net. However, Carter did the same, before a double touch was called on Simkus, granting UCLA the set 25-14.
In set four, this time it was the ’Cats who established an early lead with a 5-0 run, and then carried that momentum through the set, only briefly contested by Li and middle blocker Brooklyn Briscoe. The Bruins were unable to overcome NU’s advantage, bouncing one off the net and out to give NU set point at 24-16, which Paris capitalized on with a ferocious line kill to win the set.
Junior libero Gigi Navarrete supplied an ace to kick off the action in the fifth set, and from there, play devolved into an electric head-to-head brawl. Hazan and Paris fought Li and Leverette to inch the score up one point at a time, all the way to a UCLA match point at 14-12 established by a Bruin block against Hazan.
NU was quick to return the favor, with Carter stuffing an attack by Li and Hazan launching a kill into the hardwood to defend from match point and even the score. Hazan came back from timeout with another mega kill to bring the ’Cats their own match point, which UCLA unsuccessfully challenged.
Wright shanked a Li attack and Hazan’s next attack went wide to return the Bruins to match point, but Hazan tooled her next attack off the block to even the score 16-16 and defend the point.
Both teams were fired up, leaving it all on the court in two final fast-paced rallies. Yet, when both culminated in Leverette kills, the Bruins took the set 18-16, and the match 3-2.
Up next, the team will face Iowa for the second time Thursday before returning to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday for its penultimate home game against Washington. Both games will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
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