Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
0-5,0-0Big Ten
Notre Dame
4-1,0-0ACC
Wildcats Drop Home Opener 3-1 to Notre Dame
9/12/2024 9:18:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern volleyball dropped their first home match of 2024 Thursday as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish posted a 3-1 (22-25, 25-14, 17-25, 18-25) victory at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The non-conference loss moved Northwestern to 0-5 on the season.
Kathryn Randorf finished with nine kills on the day to lead the Wildcats attack. Defensively, Northwestern had two players reach double figures in digs as Alexa Rousseau had 15 and Lily Wagner had 10. From the front row, Sophia Summers contributed six blocks.
Game Notes
» Buse Hazan had a team-high two aces in the loss.
» Kathryn Randorf, Rylen Reid and Alexa Rousseau all notched nine kills to lead Northwestern's attack.
» Reid's nine kills were a career high.
» Northwestern got a team-high 15 digs from Alexa Rousseau. Combined with 17 assists - also a team high - it was good for her fourth straight double-double this season.
» Sophia Summers' six blocks matched her season high and fell one shy of her career high.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Wildcats dropped a back-and-forth first set, losing 25-22 in a game that featured two lead changes and was tied 10 times. Neither team led by more than four points in the match.
SET 2 | Northwestern evened the match at 1-1 following a dominant 25-14 victory in the second set. The Wildcats grabbed the set propelled by a solid performance on the attacking side. Northwestern registered a .419 attack percentage with 14 kills in the set win. They ended on a strong note, stretching their lead to its largest point in the set to finish out the stanza. Northwestern's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking five Notre Dame attacks in the stanza.
SET 3 | Notre Dame went ahead 2-1 in the match after taking down the Wildcats in set three. The Wildcats lost the first point and never took the lead before falling in the set 25-17.
SET 4 | Northwestern then dropped the fourth set 25-18 to finish off the match. The Wildcats trailed by as many as seven points as Notre Dame grabbed the advantage for good at 3-2 and Northwestern wasn't able to recover in a set that was tied up three times before the Fighting Irish took over.
Up Next
The 'Cats will return to action on Saturday for a rematch with Notre Dame. They'll make the return trip to Notre Dame to face off with the Irish again on ACCNX. First serve in that match is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT.
