Northwestern
4-1,0-0Big Ten
Saint Mary's
1-3,0-0WCC
Wildcats Secure Sweep Over Saint Mary's
9/5/2025 4:49:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
WACO, Texas -- Northwestern volleyball got the job done in straight sets (25-21, 25-14, 25-14) to knock off the Saint Mary's (CA) Gaels on Friday at Ferrell Center.
The non-conference victory improved the Wildcats' overall record to 4-1 on the season, while Saint Mary's fell to 1-3.
Rylen Reid finished with 17 kills on the day to lead the Wildcats offense, finishing with a hitting percentage of .500. Defensively, the 'Cats got 11 digs from Ayah Elnady and a team-high three blocks from Bella Simkus.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Wildcats opened up an early one-set lead with 25-21 victory in the first. Northwestern never trailed by more than five points and grabbed the advantage for good at 21-20 in a set that featured 14 ties and five lead changes. Rylen Reid collected five kills before the end of the frame, leading the team with a .625 attack percentage in the first set.
SET 2 | Northwestern carried momentum from a set-one win by earning a 25-14 victory in the second set. The Wildcats grabbed control early on at 2-1 and never looked back. Northwestern opened its biggest lead of the stanza, 11 points, to finish off the set. The Northwestern offense also got a boost from four aces in the stanza.
SET 3 | Northwestern finished off the match in a 3-0 sweep after winning the third set, 25-14. The 'Cats were once again led by Reid, who accounted for seven of the team's nine kills and also racked up five digs in the third set alone. Drew Wright served up back-to-back aces late in the set to help lock up victory for the Wildcats.
Game Notes
» Drew Wright and Sienna Noordermeer both registered three aces in the win.
» Rylen Reid had a match-high 17 kills for Northwestern. She leads the team with 60 through the first five matches of the season.
» Ayah Elnady led the team with 11 digs.
» For the fifth straight match, both Lauren Carter (13) and Sienna Noordermeer (10) contributed double-digit assists.
Up Next
After opening the season with two straight weekends on the road, Northwestern will kick off the home portion of its schedule on Tuesday against Valparaiso. First serve from Welsh-Ryan Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and action will be streamed on B1G+.
