CLEVELAND – Northern Kentucky volleyball had its most exciting match of the year yet, digging deep for a five-set win over No. 6 seed Valparaiso in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Championship. The Norse set a Division I-era single-match digs record of 133 digs, which is the first time that NKU has hit the century mark since moving to D-I. Five different Norse had career performances in the victory. Most notably, redshirt-seniors
Lauren Hurley and
Taylor Snyder set the D-I-era single-match digs (37) and assists (68) records, respectively, while sophomore outside hitter
Haley Libs posted the first 20/20 match since head coach
Liz Hart (née Holmes) accomplished the feat for the Norse in 2007.
NKU advances to the semifinals of the League tournament carrying an 18-10 overall record. Valpo ends its season at 15-19.
The Quote
"It was an unbelievable team effort. The girls played really, really hard tonight. Valpo is a greaet team; their hitters did a phenomenal job. But our defense, in terms of Lauren and Mac and Haley, and everyone else collectively having a nice defensive match, was important that when hitters go up and hit really hard that we're able to make defensive plays and go up and terminate the ball." – Head Coach
Liz Hart
First Set Summary
- After sweeping the Crusaders on both occasions during the regular season, the Norse got a shock in the first set after falling, 25-20. The Norse hit .085 with nine errors, while Valpo hit at a .245 clip in the opening frame.
- Senior middle hitter Keely Creamer led the team in kills with four, while Libs added three.
- Hurley started off her record-breaking performance with a strong first set, notching nine digs while Libs added five.
Second Set Summary
- The Norse took the second set the distance, coming out on top of a marathon 29-27 frame.
- Libs had a slow start in the first set, hitting negative, but blasted seven kills with no errors in the second set to lead the team.
- Junior middle blocker Georgia Childers also had an errorless set with five kills on 13 swings and added three blocks. Creamer was strong at the net with three blocks, one of which was a solo block.
- Senior outside hitter Tristen Simpson added six kills on nine swings, along with two blocks.
- Nearly every player on the floor recorded at least one dig in the second set, led by Hurley with seven.
Third Set Summary
- The Norse were error-prone in the third set, once again hitting .085 in the 27-25 setback to Valpo.
- Libs and Creamer led the offense with five and four kills, respectively.
- Libs and junior DS McKenzie Eskridge were the defensive leaders, both recording eight digs.
- The team posted a whopping 35 digs in the set, by far the most in a stanza this season.
Fourth Set Summary
- NKU fell behind early in the fourth, but battled for a 25-21 win in a rollercoaster of a set, which saw the Norse finally take the lead courtesy of back-to-back-to-back blocks to give the team a 21-18 edge. Childers was involved in all three of the blocks.
- Libs had another strong set with six kills on 11 swings, while Simpson added five.
- Hurley posted seven kills, leaving her just two digs off the 30-dig plateau heading into the deciding set.
Fifth Set Summary
- Hurley quickly hit her 30th dig of the match in the final set, finishing with nine overall in the race to 15 points.
- Eskridge was a vital element in the set, posting seven digs in left back to continue numerous rallies.
- Creamer had four kills on nine swings, while Libs had three.
- NKU hit a modest .116, but held the Crusaders to .030 en route to the 15-11 win.
Norse Notes
- Five different Norse recorded career bests in the match, two of which were Division I-era single-match records.
- Hurley had 37 digs to lead the defense, six better than her previous NKU D-I standard, and also led the team from the service line with two aces.
- Snyder posted 68 assists and had her 12th double-double of the season with 14 digs.
- Libs recorded the first 20/20 match of the Division I era with a season-best 24 kills and a personal-best 24 digs. Current head coach Liz Hart was the last to post at least 20 kills and 20 digs, with 20 kills and 25 digs vs. Lewis on Sept. 15, 2007.
- Eskridge had 25 digs, seven more than her previous personal best for the first 20-dig match of her career.
- Childers had career highs in kills (8), blocks (8) and digs (10).
- The Norse have had just one other 100-dig match in the past decade, when NKU had 108 against Wheeling Jesuit on Sept. 23, 2008.
- With available box scores dating back to the 2006 season, there has been no other time in the past decade where three Norse have recorded at least 20 digs.
Up Next
- NKU will face No. 2 seeded Green Bay in the semifinals tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET. The match will be broadcast on the ESPN3 platform and is available for streaming on WatchESPN and the ESPN App.
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