HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky volleyball pushed one of the top teams in the league to five sets, but fell just short against Cleveland State in the season and Horizon League home opener. With the 25-20, 20-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-12 setback, the Norse fall to 6-8 on the season and 0-3 in League play while CSU advances to 11-4 (2-1 HL).
 
First Set Summary

• The opening set saw the largest gap in hitting percentage between the two squads, as the Vikings hit at a .346 clip while the Norse were held to .118.
• Senior middle hitter Keely Creamer led the Norse with four kills in the first frame to go with a block, while freshman rightside Laura Crawford added three.
• On defense, freshman Shelby Olsen and redshirt-senior libero Lauren Hurley each had three digs.

 
Second Set Summary

• The Norse upped their hitting in the second set, hitting .259 led by four kills from both Creamer and senior outside hitter Tristen Simpson, with both recording just one error apiece.
• The Norse had a relatively slow set in terms of back row defense with six digs, but picked up the pace at the net and recorded four blocks with two from both junior middle hitter Georgia Childers and sophomore outside hitter Haley Libs.

 
Third Set Summary

• The third set saw another dip in efficiency as the Norse hit .132 coming out of the intermission.
• Creamer, Simpson and redshirt-senior setter Taylor Snyder all recorded three kills.
• Snyder had a strong set, with three kills on three attempts to go with five digs.

 
Fourth Set Summary

• Creamer led the team into the fifth set with seven kills in the fourth frame.
• The Norse recorded a whopping 26 digs in the set, led by seven by Hurley and six from Libs.
• Once again, the Norse hit for a high percentage in the set at .333 while holding Cleveland State to its lowest set percentage of the match at .191.

 
 Fifth Set Summary

• The deciding set went back and forth throughout the remainder before the Vikings pulled away in the final points for the 15-12 win to seal the match.
• Simpson had her strongest set with five kills on eight swings, but no other Norse recorded more than one kill.

 
Norse Notes

• Overall, the Norse hit .216, which is the highest percentage that the team has recorded in six matches. Cleveland State had the slight edge at .271.
• The Vikings recorded 16 blocks, with three players recording seven blocks each. NKU had nine blocks, led by Childers with six and Libs with four.
• The Norse held the edge on digs, 67-60. Four Norse were in double-digits in the digs category: Hurley (16), Libs (14), Olsen (12) and Snyder (10).
• Both Libs and Snyder recorded double-doubles, with Libs adding 11 kills while Snyder had 52 assists. It marks the first time this season that two Norse have had a double-double in the same match. Coincidentally, the last time was also in a five-setter against Cleveland State with Snyder and Libs, along with alumna Jayden Julian, all recording double-doubles.
• Creamer tied her career high in kills with 19 to lead the team hitting at a .306 clip.
• Simpson went off for a season-best 18 kills while hitting .302.

Up Next

• NKU will host League-leader Oakland tomorrow at 4 p.m. ET in Regents Hall.