2019 Austin-Peay vs Northwestern | Big Ten Womens Volleyball

Big Ten Snapshots: Northwestern Returns The Entire 2018 Squad

Northwestern’s 6-14 Big Ten record in 2018 marked the most in-conference wins for the program since Shane Davis became the head coach in 2016.

Aug 29, 2019 by Megan Kaplon

Big Ten Snapshots: Northwestern Returns The Entire 2018 Squad

In the world of NCAA women’s volleyball, there’s no conference quite like the Big Ten. Heading into the 2019 season, seven of the 14 teams appeared in the AVCA preseason top-25 poll. Five of those seven ranked in the top 10.

FloVolleyball will be your go-to spot to stream Big Ten matches this season. Click here for the schedule of matches.

*Schedule is subject to change. Every Big Ten's women's volleyball match available on BTN Plus also will be available live and on-demand on FloVolleyball.

This week, we're bringing you a quick rundown of all 14 teams in the Big Ten, so you can know what to expect as teams get the season rolling this weekend.

Northwestern Wildcats

2018 Schedule: 18-18 (6-14 Big Ten)

2018 Postseason: N/A

AVCA National Preseason Ranking: N/A

Big Ten Preseason Ranking: 12

Northwestern’s 6-14 Big Ten record in 2018 marked the most in-conference wins for the program since Shane Davis became the head coach in 2016. The Wildcats star outside hitter Nia Robinson is now a junior and she’ll be looking to continue her upward trajectory that saw her record 374 kills as a freshman (fifth-most by a first-year in NU volleyball history) and 394 as a sophomore. Over the summer, Robinson even got some extra volleyball reps in traveling with the Big Ten Foreign Tour team in Asia.

Junior Nia Robinson reflects on her opportunity to represent the Big Ten as a member of the 2019 Foreign Tour team.

?️: https://t.co/68lDnl2qNs #B1GCats pic.twitter.com/34m2uosnzQ
— Northwestern Volleyball (@NUVball) August 21, 2019

Davis welcomes back all 17 players from the 2018 roster, in addition to bringing in four true freshmen and a transfer. Temi Thomas-Ailara headlines the 2019 class, having earned Under Armour All-America honors as a high school senior, while Charlotte Cronister and Desiree Becker were named Honorable Mention UA AA.

It's almost go time ?#B1GCats | #CTG pic.twitter.com/4jo65hTR8a
— Northwestern Volleyball (@NUVball) August 26, 2019

The transfer, Payton Chang, arrives at Northwestern having already finished undergrad at Stanford where she was a member of two national championship teams. Stuck behind two All-American setters on the depth chart, Chang played only sparingly as a serving specialist and redshirted the 2018 season, but she could find her way into the lineup at NU.