Northwestern volleyball lost its second straight Big Ten match, falling 3-0 to UCLA at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Saturday, Sept. 26, and dropping to 0-2 in conference play.

The Bruins (10-3, 1-1 Big Ten) swept the Wildcats (7-6, 0-2 Big Ten) in three identical sets, each ending 25-20, according to Northwestern athletics. Northwestern also lost 3-0 to No. 23 USC on Friday, Sept. 25, in its Big Ten opener.

Junior outside hitter Mara Štiglic led the Wildcats with 14 kills, tying UCLA's Brooke Harwood for the match high. Sophomore outside hitter Bella Bullington added 11 kills but committed a team-high five errors.

The efficiency gap told the story. Štiglic hit .256 and Bullington .212. Harwood posted a match-best .684, and Marianna Singletary hit .500 with 10 kills, as The Daily Northwestern reported. Five UCLA attackers recorded at least six kills, compared to three for Northwestern.

Sophomore libero Lauren Dignan recorded 11 digs, extending her double-digit digs streak. She also provided the match's most memorable play in the second set: after diving to dig a tipped ball, Dignan rolled onto her back and kicked the ball over the net backwards with her right foot.

Northwestern built its largest lead of the match at 12-7 in the second set off a string of four Štiglic kills. UCLA erased it and never trailed again.

The Wildcats struggled on serve. Northwestern scored on just 25.8% of its serves, compared to 39.7% for UCLA. The Bruins also out-dug the Wildcats 45-33 despite taking fewer swings.

"We have to defend better … We can't allow them to have 19 kills and 17 kills in the first two sets," head coach Tim Nollan told The Daily Northwestern after the Sept. 26 match. "It's just too hard to overcome that."

Freshman middle blocker Maya Stillwell led the front row with four blocks. Northwestern did not record a single solo block.

The 0-2 start comes in a season with the inaugural Big Ten Conference Tournament on the line. The top 15 teams in the conference standings will qualify, according to Inside NU's preseason analysis. Last season, Northwestern finished 14th in the Big Ten at 7-13, which would have been the second-to-last qualifying spot under the new format.

Northwestern has not beaten a nationally ranked opponent since October 2023.

The Wildcats travel to No. 15 Minnesota on Thursday, Oct. 1, with first serve set for 7 p.m. CT on B1G+.