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'Cats Come Up Short Against No. 22 Indiana'Cats Come Up Short Against No. 22 Indiana

'Cats Come Up Short Against No. 22 Indiana

Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Northwestern volleyball (8-19, 1-15 B1G) dropped a 3-0 match to the No. 22 Indiana Hoosiers (15-10, 8-8 B1G) at Wilkinson Hall on Sunday afternoon, falling 25-23, 25-6, 25-17.

Four ‘Cats recorded five or more kills in the match, led by Mara Stiglic, who had seven. Kaitlyn Bodnar made her first career start at setter and finished with a career-high 25 assists, while Lauren Dignan reached double-digit digs for the 21st time this season with a team-high 10.

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Dignan's 330 digs this season are the most by a Northwestern underclassman since Caroline Niedospial collected 553 in 2013.

How It Happened

SET 1 | After an evenly matched start to the contest, Indiana used a short 3-0 run to create some separation in the first set, taking a 10-6 lead and forcing a Northwestern timeout. The ‘Cats came out of the break surging, using offense from several sources to put together a 6-1 run and take a 15-13 lead. The Hoosiers had an answer, however, running off four straight points out of the media timeout to regain their lead, 17-15. Indiana created some separation, leading by as many as four points, before the ‘Cats narrowed the gap once again. Though it came as close as one point from another tie, 23-22, Northwestern could not complete its comeback, and Indiana took set one by a score of 25-23.

SET 2 | Set two was all Hoosiers. After a 7-0 run to start the frame, Indiana never took its foot off the gas. The ‘Cats collected just four kills in the set, while the Hoosiers hit nearly .700 en route to a 25-6 victory and a two-set lead in the match.

SET 3 | Indiana was locked in early again in set three. Though Northwestern scored the first point, the Hoosiers answered quickly, then pushed their lead to six points by the media timeout, 15-9. They kept the pace up in the second half of the set. Both Victoria Gray and Jaidyn Jager racked up five kills in the third set as Indiana rolled to a 25-17 win to complete the sweep.

Game Notes

  • Campbell Paris hit .556, going 5-for-9 against the Hoosiers with no errors.
  • Bodnar reached double-digit assists for the first time in her career, starting in place of Ellie Stiernagle, who was unavailable.
  • Bella Bullington recorded the 600th kill of her career.

Up Next

The ‘Cats will close out their 2026 season on Tuesday evening, when they’ll face off with the ranked Wisconsin Badgers in Madison, Wis. That match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. first serve on B1G+.