Northwestern volleyball faces powerhouses amid Nollan rebuild

Northwestern coach Tim Nollan is no stranger to a rebuild. Leading a program that hasn’t made an NCAA tournament appearance since 2010, Nollan stands on the primary steps of a daunting upward climb.

During his tenure at Grand Canyon, the Antelopes picked up just 25 victories from 2016 to 2018. This span included an 8-36 record in WAC play. Then, Nollan ushered a remarkable turnaround in his fourth season at the helm, notching 24 wins and a 13-3 WAC resume in 2019.

Regardless of conference prestige or fanfare, Nollan said sustained progress boils down to execution and focus on the fundamentals.

“The level is the level,” Nollan said. “It is what it is. Whether you’re in a mid-major, you’re in the Big Ten, you have to execute cleanly on both sides of the ball.”

Much like Nollan’s prior purple program out west, the Wildcats (3-7, 1-1 Big Ten) are in the early stages of a multi-year rebuilding process.

On-court success and wins won’t stack easily, Nollan said, especially against perennial powerhouses that have consistently occupied the conference’s upper echelon. It’s a conference in which NU hasn’t escaped with a winning record in 35 years.

“The Big Ten is the best conference in the history of women’s volleyball this year,” Nollan said. “It’s incredible to be a part of the Big Ten right now.”

With No. 7 Wisconsin venturing into Evanston Saturday night, Nollan’s squad faced an especially tall task against a foe it hasn’t beaten since 2012. 

Even with the momentum of a 3-2 conference-opening win against Maryland on Sept. 26, the ’Cats were grappling with a machine they hadn’t taken a set from in three seasons. Graduate student setter Alexa Rousseau said the ’Cats have focused on consistent improvement since the season began in August.

“Our group has talked a lot about trying to maintain our good — it doesn’t have to be perfect all the time — but when we’re playing good or great volleyball, just trying to prolong that for as long as we can,” Rousseau said. “We’re progressively trying to play our best volleyball throughout the entire game.”

Before a whiteout Welsh-Ryan Arena crowd, the Badgers (7-4, 1-1 Big Ten) made quick work of the hosts in a 3-0 victory. NU held leads on just two occasions: the first and third set’s opening points.

For Nollan, a powerhouse like Wisconsin shows his team the level of play it should strive to emulate.

“Wisconsin was a bit more polished in some of their stuff they did offensively and defensively,” Nollan said. “As I told the team in the locker room, that’s what we have to do to get into those top four or five spots in the conference. We have to be able to achieve that level of execution.”

After a two-month span without a head coach last year, the 2024 edition of the ’Cats was forged largely through work in the transfer portal. A bevy of players have stepped into elevated roles, including Rousseau, a setting specialist whom NU has leaned on heavily as a hitter.

The graduate student tied for a team-high six kills Saturday night. Junior outside hitter Buse Hazan and sophomore outside hitter Lily Wagner each contributed six kills of their own.

With plenty of newcomers and a new system in place, Nollan said he’s seen significant strides since the ’Cats opened their campaign in Las Vegas.

“We’ve gotten a lot better at understanding our defensive system,” Nollan said. “We’ve gotten ourselves in better positions. Our blockers have made really good strides. … People have grown and flourished in those roles, and (we) obviously want to continue to pour into them and help them grow and thrive even more.”

The grueling conference slate doesn’t relent for NU, which will take on No. 10 Purdue Friday in Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Boilermakers (10-3, 1-1 Big Ten) toppled No. 16 Minnesota 3-2 Saturday night and are one of six Big Ten squads ranked inside the top 25.

“We want to build this program to build and compete for Big Ten championships,” Nollan said. “At the end of the year, I think the Big Ten can send 12 to 13 teams to the NCAA tournament. Our program goal here, certainly we want to be there every single year.”

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