EUGENE, Ore. - Bella Bullington collected 20 kills on .326 hitting and Northwestern volleyball (7-18, 0-14 B1G) took the third set, but ultimately fell 3-1 to the No. 12 Oregon Ducks on the road Sunday evening. Oregon (20-4, 11-3 B1G) defeated Northwestern 25-20, 26-24, 18-25, 25-11 inside Matthew Knight Arena.
Bullington led all attackers in the match, also adding eight digs, two blocks and an ace to her 20 kills. Lauren Dignan piloted the back row defense with 12 digs, while Maya Stillwell was strong in the front row with four blocks.
How It Happened
SET 1 | Bullington picked up Northwestern’s first kill of the match, setting the tone for the offense. Despite points from her and from Campbell Paris, Oregon got out to a 15-9 lead by the break. The ‘Cats played evenly with the Ducks out of the timeout, using kills from four different players to keep pace, but couldn’t cut into their deficit. Oregon came away with the first-set victory 25-20, taking a 1-0 lead in the match.
SET 2 | Set two required extra points to decide a winner, with the teams tying 11 times before the end. Bullington continued to carry the ‘Cats, racking up eight kills in the frame. She was joined by Mara Stiglic, who chipped in four kills as well. It was Stiglic who gave the ‘Cats their first lead of the set, 5-4, then Bullington who earned it back, 11-10. The teams were neck and neck all the way to the end, with neither side ever leading by more than two points. Another kill from Stiglic brought up set point for the ‘Cats, 24-23, but the Ducks fought back, and ended up winning 26-24 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
SET 3 | Early errors from Oregon gave Northwestern the first lead in set three, then Bullington’s continued hot hitting kept the ‘Cats firing on all cylinders. The Ducks took the lead briefly, 9-8, but Northwestern grabbed it back, 11-10. Then, a 6-2 Wildcat run heading into the media timeout brought them to 15 first. After the break, Northwestern took control of the set, scoring 10 of the final 16 points to win 25-18 and cut Oregon’s lead in half.
SET 4 | Despite the Northwestern resurgence in set three, the Ducks came back strong in set four. Errors from the Wildcats gave Oregon a 7-3 lead. After an NU timeout, the momentum didn’t slow, and the Ducks led 15-8 by the midway point. Oregon closed the match strong, limiting the ‘Cats to just two more points on a pair of kills from Clara Schramm, and won the fourth set 25-11 to secure a 3-1 victory in the match.
Game Notes
- Ellie Stiernagle finished with 36 assists, bringing her to 873 on the season. That moves her into seventh place all-time among Northwestern first-years, surpassing Taylor Tashima, who finished 2014 with 871.
- Bullington finished with 20 or more kills for the second time in her career. Along with Stiglic, who has reached 20 kills three times this season, they are the first pair of Northwestern teammates to both record two or more 20+ kill matches since at least 2020.
- The ‘Cats have won two sets against ranked opponents this season: against Oregon and against then-No. 22 Michigan State (Oct. 17).