Northwestern University Athletics
Friday, October 10
Piscataway, N.J.
6 p.m. CT
Northwestern
at
Rutgers
Photo by: Henry Frieman/Northwestern Athletics
'Cats Head East for Road Swing at Rutgers, No. 19 Penn State
10/9/2025 6:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - On the road for the first time in nearly a month, the Northwestern women's volleyball team (11-5, 1-3 Big Ten) will head east this weekend for back-to-back Big Ten matchups against Rutgers and No.19 Penn State. The 'Cats face the Scarlet Knights on Friday at 6 p.m. CT, then travel to visit the Nittany Lions on Saturday for a 7 p.m. CT game. Both matches can be streamed on BIG+.
Though they couldn't pull off the upset against then-No. 10 Minnesota last weekend, the 'Cats put in some strong performances. Lauren Dignan (Tiburon, Calif./The Branson School) led the team with 14 digs - her third double-digit dig performance in her last four matches - while Ayah Elnady (Cairo, Egypt/Ramses College for Girls) recorded 10 digs. Paired with 14 kills, that was good for Elnady's third double-double of the season.
Elnady was one of four Wildcats to reach double-digits in the meeting with Minnesota, making it Northwestern's second match of conference play with four players over the ten-kill mark. Also in on the action, Bella Bullington (Orland Park, Ill./Marist) recorded 14 kills in the game, good for her third straight match in double figures.
Continuing to impress from the service line was Rylen Reid (Rolling Meadows, Ill./Fremd), who had a strong showing with three aces. Entering play in Piscataway, the senior ranks seventh in the Big Ten for service aces, while the team as a whole ranks second in the conference.
The 'Cats begin their weekend against Rutgers (10-6, 1-3 Big Ten) who is coming off a loss to No. 1 Nebraska. Like the 'Cats, Rutgers has been impressive from the service line; the Scarlet Knights are ranked first in the Big Ten with 118 aces this season. Though last year's meeting with Rutgers in Evanston went the Scarlet Knights' way, Northwestern won each of the seven meetings before that. They'll arrive in Piscataway on Friday with a 13-2 all-time record against Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights' only other victory over Northwestern came on October 27, 2019, in Piscataway.
Then, on Saturday, the 'Cats face the Nittany Lions (8-6, 2-2 Big Ten), who are coming off of a five-set win against Maryland. Northwestern has played to a 9-59 record all-time against Penn State, and are in search of their first victory since they knocked off the then-No. 3 Nittany Lions at home in 2015. To get the victory, they'll have to go through Kennedy Martin, who sits second in the Big Ten and 19th in the country with 257 kills.
Following the stretch of away games, the 'Cats will return to Welsh-Ryan Arena next week to take on Michigan (Oct. 16) and Illinois (Oct. 19) at home. Next Thursday's matchup with Michigan can be watched on Big Ten Network at 8 p.m. CT, while Sunday's match against the Illini will be streamed at 2 p.m. CT on BIG+.
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