Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
11-4,1-2Big Ten
Michigan State
12-1,2-1Big Ten
Wildcats Fall 3-1 to Michigan State
10/3/2025 9:44:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern volleyball took the first set in dominant fashion, but couldn't hang on against the Michigan State Spartans (12-1, 2-1 Big Ten), falling in four sets (25-15, 15-25, 20-25, 21-25) on Friday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The loss dropped Northwestern's record to 11-4 overall and 1-2 in Big Ten play.
The Wildcats offense was paced by Bella Bullington, who finished with 15 kills on the day with a .296 hitting percentage, and by Rylen Reid, who matched that total with 15 of her own. Defensively, Northwestern got 10 digs from Ayah Elnady along with a team-high five blocks from Bella Simkus.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Wildcats won the first point and never looked back, rolling to a 25-15 first-set victory. Already up 15-11, the 'Cats rattled off four straight blocks to force a Michigan State timeout and extend their lead to 19-11. The Spartans couldn't get past Northwestern's defensive front, and the Wildcats opened up their biggest lead, 10 points, to finish off the set. They got a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked five Michigan State attacks in the stanza and capitalized on 10 Michigan State attacking errors on the way to victory.
SET 2 | Michigan State bounced back in the second set, winning 25-15 to tie the match 1-1. Northwestern trailed by as many as 11 points as Michigan State hit .500 as a team en route to the set-two victory.
SET 3 | Northwestern fell again in set three to make it a 2-1 deficit. After the 'Cats got out to an early 5-1 lead, Michigan State grabbed the advantage at 15-14 and took over completely in the second half of the stanza. They used 12 kills and four blocks to roll to a 25-20 win.
SET 4 | Northwestern battled in set four but couldn't close out, falling 25-21 in the set and 3-1 in the match. Despite five kills each from Bullington and Reid, the Spartans outlasted the 'Cats to take the victory.
Game Notes
» Northwestern never trailed on the way to winning the first set 25-15.
» Bella Bullington had a team-high 15 kills for Northwestern, good for her second straight match in double figures. It marked the first time in the first-year's career that she reached double-digit kills in back-to-back matches.
» Northwestern got a team-high 10 digs from Ayah Elnady, who fell just shy of her third double-double of the season with nine kills.
» Northwestern attackers were helped by a team-high 31 assists from Lauren Carter. It was just the second time in the senior's career that she reached the thirty-assist mark.
Up Next
The 'Cats will be back in action this Sunday, when they wrap up their extended home stay with a matchup against the No. 10 Minnesota Golden Gophers. First serve between the two teams is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT inside Welsh-Ryan Arena and on B1G+.
