HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team will battle for seeding in the coming Horizon League Championship when they take on Cleveland State on Tuesday evening. Links to live stats and the ESPN3 broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com.
Northern Kentucky University Norse (13-13, 8-6 Horizon)Cleveland State University Vikings (22-5, 11-2 Horizon)Nov. 10 – 7 p.m.
Woodling Gymnasium (1,500) – Cleveland, Ohio
Series History: NKU leads, 3-2
First meeting: Sept. 20, 1980 at Pittsburgh, Pa. (NKU 10-15, 15-4, 15-4)
Last meeting: Oct. 13, 2015 at NKU (NKU 17-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-16, 15-13)
ABOUT CLEVELAND STATE: The Vikings enter Tuesday's contest having dropped a 3-1 decision to Oakland on Saturday, their first loss in their last seven matches, all against League competition. Offensively, the Vikings are led by Christina Toth, who is averaging almost four kills per set, and Grace Kauth, who stands at 3.64 kills per set. Alexis Middlebrooks is one of the League's most efficient attackers, at .336 on the season, and most prolific blockers, averaging 1.11 per set.
LAST MEETING: Keyaira Lankheit posted a career-high 13 kills and
Keely Creamer led the Norse with 17 kills as NKU claimed an upset in five-sets at home against Cleveland State. After going down 2-1, the Norse battled back with a 25-16 win in Set 4 and, again trailing in Set 5, the Norse came back with a 4-0 run to take the lead en route to a 15-13 win.
PLAYOFF PICTURE: Based on Saturday's results, NKU is locked into the Horizon League Championship, set for Nov. 20-22. There is just one spot still in play as NKU, Cleveland State, Oakland, Valparaiso and Green Bay have each clinched postseason spots. A win in their final two matches will lock the Norse into no lower than a four-seed for the Championship.
CAREER NIGHT FOR LIBS: Haley Libs again posted a career night in NKU's five-set win over Youngstown State on Saturday, going for 26 kills on the night, including 18 kills in the final three sets of the match to help the Norse to a 3-2 victory. Libs has gone over 20 kills in each of her last three matches and six times over the course of the season.
CARDIAC NORSE: NKU has played some exciting volleyball as of late, as they have gone to a fifth set in each of their last three outings, four of their last five matches and seven times overall this season. The Norse have posted a remarkable 6-1 record in five-set matches this year and 11-2 over the last two seasons combined. NKU has now played 52 sets in Horizon League play this year, more than any other team. Saturday's match was the first time since the 2014 season that the Norse came back from two sets down to claim a win, and the first time since the 2013 season that the Norse have done so on the road.
UP NEXT: NKU will close out the regular season on Saturday afternoon at Oakland. First serve against the Golden Grizzlies is set for 4 p.m., with the match set to be broadcast on ESPN3.
