Volleyball Set for Sunday Showdown Against UCLA

EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern volleyball (4-11, 2-5 B1G) will play the second of two straight home matches as they host the UCLA Bruins (8-8, 2-5 B1G) at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday. First serve in the match is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT on B1G+.

STORYLINES:

Northwestern racked up a season-high 13 aces as a team on Wednesday, good for nearly 15 percent of their total points on the evening. Three players logged multiple aces in the contest, headlined by Rylen Reid's career-high six. Prior to facing Iowa, Reid had yet to record an ace this season. Sophia Summers also impressed from the line, nearly matching Reid with five aces of her own. That came after Summers recorded three on the road at Wisconsin, giving her eight aces over her last two matches.
Alexa Rousseau moved up Northwestern's career assist rankings on Wednesday, recording her 3,635th career assist on her fifth assist of the evening. She now ranks fifth in program history in that category, and is 558 away from tying for fourth.
With 11 blocks as a team against the Hawkeyes, Northwestern has totaled at least that many in four of their last five matches - all of which lasted four or less sets. Their team 2.45 blocks-per-set clip ranks 11th in the Big Ten but 64th in the NCAA.

THE MATCH-UP:

Sunday's meeting will be the second all-time between the 'Cats and the Bruins, and the first since UCLA joined the Big Ten. The two teams first faced off in 2008 as part of the Wildcat Classic in Evanston, and UCLA left with a four-set victory over Northwestern. This year, their meeting serves as the 'Cats' first against a conference newcomer; they'll host USC near the end of November after visiting Oregon and Washington earlier in the month.

UCLA is receiving votes in the AVCA/Taraflex Coaches Poll after amassing an 8-8 record so far this season. The Bruins picked up a ranked victory over No. 14 Georgia Tech to open the season, then went 5-3 the rest of the way through their non-conference schedule. Since conference play began, UCLA has picked up 3-1 victories over Ohio State (Sept. 29) and No. 24 Washington (Oct. 9). They've dropped five Big Ten matches so far, four of which were against ranked opponents.

UP NEXT:

After finishing play against the Bruins, the 'Cats will hit the road for two in a row on Big Ten Network. They'll visit ranked Minnesota on Wednesday, then head to Bloomington to face off with the Hoosiers on Sunday. Wednesday's game is scheduled for an 8 p.m. CT first serve, while Sunday's match at Indiana is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Volleyball Set for Sunday Showdown Against UCLA

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Rylen Reid

Alexa Rousseau

Sophia Summers

Northwestern University Athletics