EVANSTON, Ill. - The Northwestern Wildcats (8-18, 1-14 B1G) defeated the visiting Iowa Hawkeyes (13-16, 2-13 B1G) in dominant fashion on Thursday evening, picking up a 3-0 sweep by a final score of 25-17, 25-22, 25-23.
Mara Stiglic and Bella Bullington both reached double digits in kills, recording 12 and 11 respectively to lead the offense. Ellie Stiernagle surpassed 900 assists on the season with 37 against the Hawkeyes, pairing that with two aces and a kill to help the ‘Cats to victory.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The ‘Cats owned the first set, hitting .375 as a team to rack up 15 kills alongside four blocks. Stiglic and Campbell Paris got the offense going early, helping the ‘Cats to a 5-5 tie, before Bullington took over. The sophomore racked up four kills in a ten-point stretch, boosting the ‘Cats to a 12-7 lead heading into the media break. Northwestern kept its foot on the gas out of the timeout, forcing Iowa errors to help stretch the lead to six points, 15-9. After a called timeout by the Hawkeyes, Hayley Schaaf got in on the action with a pair of kills and the Wildcats doubled up Iowa, 20-10. The Hawkeyes managed a late rally to cut the lead by a few points, but the ‘Cats stopped them short, winning the first set 25-17.
SET 2 | Northwestern’s offense stayed hot in the second set, once again hitting over .300. The ‘Cats were led again by Bullington, who racked up four kills in the second set, and by Schaff, who went two-for-three with no errors in the set. Early blunders by the Hawkeyes gave the Wildcats a 5-1 lead in the beginning stages, then kills from Stiglic, Bullington and Paris expanded the Northwestern advantage. An ace from Stiernagle pushed the lead to 10-4 and forced an Iowa timeout. Out of the break, the Hawkeyes put together an answer, battling back to a 15-15 tie. The teams traded points in the late stages, but the ‘Cats kept a narrow advantage. Finally, a Stiglic kill gave Northwestern some breathing room, then an Iowa service error delivered the set to the ‘Cats, 25-22.
SET 3 | Set three went Iowa’s way through the opening points, as a 5-1 run put the Hawkeyes up 6-2 early. Following a timeout, the ‘Cats began to cut into their deficit. Stiglic, Bullington and Maya Stillwell contributed kills, while Stiernagle and Lauren Dignan combined for three aces to bring the score even at 13-13. A Stiglic kill then gave Northwestern its first lead of the set since the opening point, putting them up 15-14. The teams kept close after the media break, as Iowa stuck within three points of the ‘Cats all the way to the finish. Northwestern was able to maintain its advantage, however, using three kills from Stiglic to stay ahead. In the end, it was Bullington who sealed the deal, wrapping up the sweep with a kill to lock up a 25-23 victory in set three.
Game Notes
- With 37 assists against the Hawkeyes, Stiernagle now has 910 total for the season. She’s just 22 assists from moving into sixth all-time among Northwestern first-years.
- Dignan led the back-row defense with 15 digs, bringing her to 320 on the season. That’s the most by any Northwestern player since 2023, when Ellee Stinson finished the year with 498. It’s also the most by any Northwestern underclassman since Caroline Niedospial racked up 553 digs as a sophomore in 2013.
- If the season finished today, Dignan’s 3.64 digs per set would rank among the top ten seasons in program history.
- Stiglic reached double-digit kills for the 15th time this season, while Bullington hit that mark for the 18th time this season. Both hitters have reached double-digit kills in all but one of the Wildcats’ victories this season (Sept. 11 vs. Virginia Tech).
- While the teams played to three ties in set two, Northwestern never trailed.