HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky volleyball celebrated an emphatic win on Saturday afternoon, taking down Horizon League-leading Oakland in straight sets. The win was the first in program history over the Golden Grizzlies and was also NKU's first League win of the season. With the 25-16, 25-14, 25-23 win over Oakland, NKU moves to 7-8 on the season and 1-3 in League action, while the Golden Grizzlies dip to 11-7 (3-1 HL).
 
The Quote
"Our serving was a huge part of our strategy and we did a really good job getting them out of system. We also stayed aggressive offensively and did our part in terminating balls. I think we're one of the top serve receiving teams in the League, and it's been more an issue of terminating with us. Our blocking was huge; we did a good job making them more predictable to eliminate hitters. If they got a big swing, we did a good job rebounding quickly from that and siding out." –Head Coach Liz Hart
 
First Set Summary

• The Norse came out aggressively in the first set, registering five aces and allowing just one.
• Sophomore outside hitter Haley Libs led the serving charge with two and also paced the offense with three kills on six swings with no errors.
• Freshman rightside hitter Laura Crawford also registered three kills with a perfect hitting percentage.
• Oakland was held to just .038 in the opening set.
• Redshirt-senior libero Lauren Hurley had five digs to lead the backrow effort.

 
Second Set Summary

• NKU's defense held Oakland to a null hitting percentage as the Golden Grizzlies recorded just eight kills coupled with eight errors. Conversely, the Norse hit a blistering .391 with just four errors in the set.
• Senior middle hitter Keely Creamer had five kills on seven attempts to lead the offense.
• Junior middle hitter Georgia Childers was 2-of-2 hitting and led the team in blocking with three.

 
Third Set Summary

• The final frame was the most competitive, with NKU hitting .258 while Oakland was not far off with a .233 clip.
• Libs was the standout in the third set with four kills on four attempts, five digs and the block that ended the match.

 
Norse Notes

• The win was the first in the history of the program over the Golden Grizzlies, who had previously held an 8-0 record all-time dating back to 1985.
• Oakland entered the match as the top team in the League and the No. 8 team in the nation in aces per set. NKU surrendered just two passing errors to the Golden Grizzlies in the win.
• The Norse hit .280, which is just the third time this year that NKU has hit over .250. The other two instances were also sweeps, over Evansville (Aug. 27) and Fort Wayne (Sept. 3).
• Oakland was held to a .087 clip, which is just the second time this season that an opponent was held under .100 hitting. The last time was against Evansville.
• NKU had the statistical edge in every category: blocks (8-3), aces (7-2), digs (38-22) and kills (38-28).
• Creamer paced the offense with a match-high 10 kills, hitting .261, coupled with two blocks.
• Childers registered five blocks to go with four kills at a .500 clip.
• Libs hit .457 with eight swings, along with seven digs, three aces and a pair of blocks.
• Senior outside hitter Tristen Simpson was strong at the net with four blocks, which ties her career high.
• Hurley led all players with nine digs.
• Redshirt-senior setter had 31 assists to go with six kills.

Up Next

• NKU returns to Regents Hall next week to take on Valparaiso. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 7. The Norse will then make the short trip to Wright State in Dayton, Ohio, on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 4 p.m.