Thursday, September 4
Waco, Texas
6 p.m. CT
Northwestern
at
Baylor
Photo by: Mary Grace Grabill/Northwestern Athletics
Undefeated 'Cats Head South to Baylor Classic
9/3/2025 4:50:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
WACO, Texas - Northwestern volleyball (3-0) continues its non-conference schedule on the road this week in Waco, Texas, where the 'Cats are set to take on a pair of foes at Ferrell Center in the Baylor Classic. Northwestern will face the hosts, No. 20 Baylor (2-1), on Thursday evening at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+. Following that, the 'Cats will battle Saint Mary's (CA) (1-2) on Friday at 2:30 p.m. CT.
Northwestern heads south with an undefeated record after taking down all three opponents it faced last weekend at the UC San Diego Invitational. Head coach Tim Nollan's squad swept Eastern Washington and picked up a pair of 3-1 victories over New Mexico State and the hosting Tritons to improve to 3-0 on the young season. It marked the first 3-0 start to a season for the Wildcats since 2022.
The 'Cats got contributions from up and down the roster in the weekend sweep, with seven different players finishing the stretch with ten or more kills. Rylen Reid led the charge with a team-high 31, bolstered by an 18-kill performance against UC San Diego that put her just one kill shy of her single-match career high. Campbell Paris and Ayah Elnady also impressed in their first matches in purple; Elnady recorded a double-double in Friday's defeat of New Mexico State with 10 kills and 12 digs, while Paris was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after leading the Wildcat offense in kills in both of the first two matches.
Also in on the action were first-years Bella Bullington and Kayla Kauffman, who both submitted stand-out performances in their collegiate debuts. Bullington hit .326 en route to 22 kills on the weekend, including 11 in Sunday's match alone. On the defensive side, Kauffman led the team in total blocks, with 15. As of Wednesday, Kauffman's 1.67 blocks per set ranked among the top 25 in the country.
Northwestern will seek to keep its momentum going against an AVCA Top-25 opponent in No. 20 Baylor on Thursday evening. The Bears are 2-1 after their opening weekend, during which they defeated South Alabama (3-1) and LSU (3-1), but fell to then-No. 10 SMU in five sets. Baylor is coming off a 23-8 season in 2024 that saw it reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament after finishing fourth in the Big 12. Thursday's match will mark the fourth all-time meeting between Northwestern and Baylor and the first in nearly three decades. NU has won two of three contests all-time, with both wins coming in Waco.
On Friday, the 'Cats will meet the Saint Mary's Gaels for the first time in program history. Saint Mary's enters play at the Baylor Classic with a 1-2 record in 2025. Last weekend in North Dakota, the Gaels defeated North Dakota, 3-2, before dropping matches to both Bowling Green (3-1) and North Dakota State (3-2). In 2024, Saint Mary's played to a ninth-place finish in the West Coast Conference (WCC) with a 10-17 overall record.
After wrapping up in Waco, the Wildcats will return to Evanston for their 2025 home debut next Tuesday, Sept. 9, against Valparaiso. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m. CT in Welsh-Ryan Arena and action will be streamed on B1G+.
Northwestern heads south with an undefeated record after taking down all three opponents it faced last weekend at the UC San Diego Invitational. Head coach Tim Nollan's squad swept Eastern Washington and picked up a pair of 3-1 victories over New Mexico State and the hosting Tritons to improve to 3-0 on the young season. It marked the first 3-0 start to a season for the Wildcats since 2022.
The 'Cats got contributions from up and down the roster in the weekend sweep, with seven different players finishing the stretch with ten or more kills. Rylen Reid led the charge with a team-high 31, bolstered by an 18-kill performance against UC San Diego that put her just one kill shy of her single-match career high. Campbell Paris and Ayah Elnady also impressed in their first matches in purple; Elnady recorded a double-double in Friday's defeat of New Mexico State with 10 kills and 12 digs, while Paris was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after leading the Wildcat offense in kills in both of the first two matches.
Also in on the action were first-years Bella Bullington and Kayla Kauffman, who both submitted stand-out performances in their collegiate debuts. Bullington hit .326 en route to 22 kills on the weekend, including 11 in Sunday's match alone. On the defensive side, Kauffman led the team in total blocks, with 15. As of Wednesday, Kauffman's 1.67 blocks per set ranked among the top 25 in the country.
Northwestern will seek to keep its momentum going against an AVCA Top-25 opponent in No. 20 Baylor on Thursday evening. The Bears are 2-1 after their opening weekend, during which they defeated South Alabama (3-1) and LSU (3-1), but fell to then-No. 10 SMU in five sets. Baylor is coming off a 23-8 season in 2024 that saw it reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament after finishing fourth in the Big 12. Thursday's match will mark the fourth all-time meeting between Northwestern and Baylor and the first in nearly three decades. NU has won two of three contests all-time, with both wins coming in Waco.
On Friday, the 'Cats will meet the Saint Mary's Gaels for the first time in program history. Saint Mary's enters play at the Baylor Classic with a 1-2 record in 2025. Last weekend in North Dakota, the Gaels defeated North Dakota, 3-2, before dropping matches to both Bowling Green (3-1) and North Dakota State (3-2). In 2024, Saint Mary's played to a ninth-place finish in the West Coast Conference (WCC) with a 10-17 overall record.
After wrapping up in Waco, the Wildcats will return to Evanston for their 2025 home debut next Tuesday, Sept. 9, against Valparaiso. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m. CT in Welsh-Ryan Arena and action will be streamed on B1G+.
Players Mentioned
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