Northwestern Takes First Set, Falls at No. 13 Washington

SEATTLE – The Northwestern volleyball team won the first set, but couldn’t hang on and lost its first match of the year in four sets (25-21, 12-25, 14-25, 22-25) to No. 13 Washington on Thursday night at Alaska Airlines Arena. The Wildcats (7-1) saw their Shane Davis era best seven-game win streak come to a close. 

Temi Thomas-Ailara finished with 12 kills on the day to lead the Wildcats attack while finishing with a hitting percentage of .259. Alexa Rousseau contributed a team-high 31 assists, seven digs and three kills. Desiree Becker lead the team defensively posting five blocks.

Game Notes

» Temi Thomas-Ailara had a team-high 12 kills for Northwestern. She has talled six double-digit kill performances in the team’s eight matches.

» Northwestern got a team-high seven digs from Alexa Rousseau.

» Northwestern saw its seven match win streak to start the season come to an end. It was the fifth time in program history NU started a season with 7 or more straight wins (2022, 2017, 2012, 1987, 1984).

» The Wildcats are now 0-3 all-time against Washington.

» This was the first ranked opponent NU played this season.

How It Happened

SET 1 | The Wildcats took control of set-one and held a 6-5 lead and never looked back to win 25-21. Northwestern led by as many as four points at 11-7 before finishing off the set. NU got a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked five Washington attacks in the stanza.

SET 2 | Northwestern lost the second set 25-12 to tie the match 1-1. The Wildcats fell behind on the first point and never took the lead before dropping the set.

SET 3 | Northwestern then lost their second set in a row, falling behind in the match two sets to one. The Wildcats lost a tough set 25-14. Northwestern trailed by as many as 11 points as Washington grabbed the advantage for good at 4-3 in a set that was tied up three times before the Huskies took over the lead.

SET 4 | Northwestern lost set four and the match, falling 25-22. The Wildcats dropped the set in spite of a strong performance on the attacking end. Northwestern put together a .429 attack percentage with 16 kills in the set loss.

Northwestern faces another stiff test at the Husky Invitation tomorrow, Sept. 10, when it takes on No. 24 Pepperdine at 7 p.m. CT.

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