Breaking down Northwestern volleyball’s 2025 schedule

Can the program right the ship this season?

Northwestern Volleyball’s 2025 schedule was fully released last month, as the Wildcats are hoping for a rebound after winning just five games last season and finishing second-to-last in the conference. Head coach Tim Nollan is currently in the midst of his first full offseason as NU’s coach, as he continues to rebuild and enhance the program to bring it to a competitive level.

The road to improvement will start with 12 non-conference matchups, four more than last season. The abundant amount of preseason games should benefit the ‘Cats, as they’ll have more time to ramp up players, figure out the best lineups and hone their rotation before conference play begins. The majority of their non-conference opponents were average but not elite last season; however, most finished with a significantly better record than the ‘Cats. Thus, they can provide insight into how much better NU has gotten and whether it has exited the lowly tier of NCAA volleyball teams.

NU will begin its season in San Diego playing New Mexico State, Eastern Washington and UC San Diego on three consecutive days. It will then face one of its toughest opponents in Baylor, which had a 14-4 conference record last season. The other test for the ‘Cats will be a road match against Buffalo, which finished 16-16 last season and 12-6 in the MAC. Aside from these two, the remaining opponents are formidable but beatable.

Conference play begins on September 25th and spans 20 games, with ten in Evanston including four games at home to start. The ‘Cats finished just 2-10 at Welsh-Ryan Arena in 2024, so this opening homestand provides an early opportunity to find confidence and success on their home floor, while making clear to the Wildcat faithful this is a new and refined team. The four games include matchups against NCAA tournament teams in Indiana and Oregon.

Another unique part of its schedule follows, as NU will go from facing a likely terrible team to a likely great team. A matchup against Rutgers, which is also seeking a bounce-back season after finishing last in 2024 conference play, will be followed by a road trip to Penn State to take on the defending national champions. The ‘Cats will need to approach both games with ferocity and be prepared to adjust quickly, given the huge difference in opponent quality.

It won’t just be Penn State that NU will have to contend with. A date with Nebraska — the only other 19-1 team in conference play last season — is scheduled for October 24. The ‘Cats will play several other tournament teams this season, including five at home. Aside from Indiana and Oregon, the ‘Cats will welcome Washington, Wisconsin and Illinois. Northwestern will also face the Fighting Illini twice this season, including a road visit on the final game of the season. Finally, the Wildcats will take on Iowa twice, with the first game taking place on Halloween in Evanston.

Other highlights on the schedule include NU making its first trip to Southern California to face USC and UCLA back-to-back in early November.

The conference isn’t getting any easier, but there are games every week that the ‘Cats have a shot of winning. Taking advantage of sloppy performances and feeding off home crowd energy could go a long way. Regardless, some improvement is what the program is looking for. Let’s see if it can deliver.