Northwestern University Athletics
Thursday, September 26
College Park, Md.
6 p.m. CT
Northwestern
at
Maryland
Photo by: Ryan Kuttler/Northwestern Athletics
'Cats Open Conference Slate at Maryland
9/25/2024 4:49:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Fresh off back-to-back sweeps of Northern Illinois, Northwestern volleyball returns to action on Thursday in College Park as they open their conference schedule against the Maryland Terrapins at XFINITY Center. The Wildcats (2-6) will face off with the Terrapins (9-2) at 6 p.m. CT, with action to be streamed on B1G+.
STORYLINES:
THE MATCH-UP:
Northwestern barely trails in the all-time series against Maryland, owning an 8-9 record versus the Terrapins since the programs' first meeting in 2014. That mark includes a 5-4 record on the road in College Park. The 'Cats are winners of both of the last two match-ups with Maryland, including a four-set victory in Evanston last October and a win in straight-sets in 2022 in College Park.
Maryland wrapped up its non-conference slate last weekend at the UCF Tournament in Orlando, Fla., where they went 2-0 with victories over UCF and Nevada. The Terrapins' only two losses during non-conference play came early, when they dropped a 3-1 match to LSU and a 3-2 match to New Hampshire, both as part of the LSU Tournament at the end of August.
UP NEXT:
Following their trip to the XFINITY Center, the Wildcats will return home this weekend to host the No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers at Welsh-Ryan Arena in their Big Ten home opener. That match is set to tip off at 7 p.m. CT. Tickets are on sale now for that match and all home Big Ten matches.
STORYLINES:
- Alexa Rousseau is sixth all-time in career assists at Northwestern, but lately, she's been a force on the attack as well. Rousseau tallied a career-high 12 kills last Friday in DeKalb, tying with Buse Hazan to lead the Wildcat offense. It was her second time accomplishing that feat this season after never leading the 'Cats in kills during her first four years in Evanston. Rousseau has continued to impress as a setter as well, logging five double-doubles and a team-leading 214 assists through Northwestern's first four matches. Entering play Thursday, she stands just 106 career assists away from moving into fifth all-time in the program record book.
- Junior transfer Buse Hazan has wasted no time establishing herself in purple, leading the 'Cats with 100 total kills through their first month of play. Hazan, who logged double-digit kill performances in 25 of 34 matches last season at South Florida, has tallied 10 or more kills in six of eight matches so far this season. The run included her fifth career 20-kill game on Sept. 7 at Long Beach State, and she has led the team's offense in five of eight matches to open the season. Her 11-dig performance against Pacific on Aug. 31 was also good for her first Wildcat double-double.
- Lauren Carter reached a career high in digs on Friday at Northern Illinois, tallying six total. She paired that with a season-high ten assists, which was good for the third double-digit assist game of her collegiate career and her first as a Wildcat.
THE MATCH-UP:
Northwestern barely trails in the all-time series against Maryland, owning an 8-9 record versus the Terrapins since the programs' first meeting in 2014. That mark includes a 5-4 record on the road in College Park. The 'Cats are winners of both of the last two match-ups with Maryland, including a four-set victory in Evanston last October and a win in straight-sets in 2022 in College Park.
Maryland wrapped up its non-conference slate last weekend at the UCF Tournament in Orlando, Fla., where they went 2-0 with victories over UCF and Nevada. The Terrapins' only two losses during non-conference play came early, when they dropped a 3-1 match to LSU and a 3-2 match to New Hampshire, both as part of the LSU Tournament at the end of August.
UP NEXT:
Following their trip to the XFINITY Center, the Wildcats will return home this weekend to host the No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers at Welsh-Ryan Arena in their Big Ten home opener. That match is set to tip off at 7 p.m. CT. Tickets are on sale now for that match and all home Big Ten matches.
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballVolleyball - 'Cats Defeat Iowa on Rylen Reid's 27-Kill Night (10/31/25)
Saturday, November 01
Volleyball - 'Cats Outlast Michigan in Five-Set Thriller (10/16/25)
Friday, October 17
Volleyball - Wildcats Sweep Campbell to Close Non-Conference Play (9/20/2025)
Sunday, September 21
Volleyball - 'Cats Defeat Valparaiso in Home Opener Reverse Sweep (9/9/2025)
Wednesday, September 10
