Northwestern University Athletics

Friday, October 31
Evanston, Ill.
7 p.m. CT

Northwestern

vs

Iowa

bella vs mich
Photo by: Henry Frieman/Northwestern Athletics

'Cats Return Home to Host Iowa and Maryland

10/30/2025 6:10:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern volleyball (13-9, 3-7 Big Ten) will be back at Welsh-Ryan Arena this weekend to host two conference foes, Iowa and Maryland, for a pair of home matches. The 'Cats will face off against the Hawkeyes on Friday night at 7 p.m. CT, then take on the Terrapins at 2 p.m. Sunday. Both matches will be streamed on B1G+.

Northwestern will hope to get more stellar performances from first-year Bella Bullington, who had a match-high 18 kills on .556 hitting in Northwestern's three-set loss to Indiana this past Sunday. It marked the fifth time this season that Bullington had hit over .500 in a match where she recorded five or more kills, and the third time she hit over .500 with ten or more kills. 

Lauren Carter also had an impressive outing against Indiana, finishing with a match-high three service aces to go along with a team-high 16 assists. This was Carter's third three-ace performance of the season, bringing her to 29 aces this year, which ranks eighth in the Big Ten entering the weekend.

The Wildcats will first battle against Iowa (12-10, 3-7 Big Ten) in a Halloween night match. Iowa is coming off back-to-back wins last weekend, with victories over Michigan State and Rutgers. Northwestern swept the season series against the Hawkeyes last season, winning both matches 3-1, and enter play on a six-match win streak against Iowa that dates back to 2021. The 'Cats will look to extend that this year in the first of two scheduled meetings with the Hawkeyes.

On Sunday afternoon, Northwestern will take on Maryland (8-12, 1-9 Big Ten). The Terrapins dropped their two most recent matches against No. 22 USC and No. 25 UCLA. Northwestern won the match-up against Maryland in the conference opener last season, but they will have to get through a tough Terrapin front line this year. Maryland's Duru Gökçen is first in the Big Ten in total blocks (99), and Ajack Malual is sixth in the conference in total kills (275). 

Following this weekend, the 'Cats will hit the road for a pair of west coast matches against USC and UCLA. Northwestern will battle the Trojans on November 6 at 9 p.m. CT, then take on the Bruins on November 8 at 9 p.m. CT. All the action will be streamed on B1G+. 

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