GREEN BAY, Wis. – Northern Kentucky volleyball had a competitive first two sets against Green Bay, but fell in four to the Phoenix on the road, 28-26, 18-25, 25-19, 25-16. With the loss, NKU drops to 8-9 and 4-4 in Horizon League play while Green Bay advances to 9-10 (5-3 HL).
First Set Summary
- NKU got out to a rocky start with a negative hitting percentage leading up to the first timeout, but recuperated to finish with a .200 clip by the end of the frame.
- The Norse trailed by as many as six points, but eventually took the lead at 19-18. The remainder of the set saw the teams trade points before Green Bay used a pair of NKU miscues to win in extra points, 28-26.
- Haley Libs terminated four kills on nine swings and also added four digs, while Shebly Olsen paced the defense with six digs.
- Laura Crawford was efficient with three kills and no errors on eight attempts, and also added four digs.
Second Set Summary
- The Norse put away 18 kills in the only set that they won, hitting .441 with just three errors while holding Green Bay to .233.
- Libs had six kills and no errors, along with an ace to lead the Norse in scoring, while Crawford and Bailey Western each had four kills and a block.
Third Set Summary
- Following the intermission, the matchup remained balanced until Green Bay pulled away to an 18-13 advantage and held onto the lead for the rest of the frame.
- NKU dropped in efficiency, hitting just .071 with less kill production than previous sets. Libs had four kills while Drew Hendricks added three for the bulk of NKU's nine kills in the set.
- The Norse still kept up its defensive efforts with 19 digs, led by Libs and Olsen with five digs each.
Fourth Set Summary
- The final set was similar to the third, as NKU hit .000 with just nine kills, led by Crawford with three. The rightside hitter also added four digs, as did Libs, while McKenzie Eskridge had her most productive defensive set with five.
- Green Bay did not leave many opportunities for NKU to catch up, going out to an early lead and continuing to build in the 25-16 decision.
Norse Notes
- Libs recorded her fourth-straight double-double with 14 kills and a team-best 16 digs, hitting at a .286 clip for the match.
- Crawford and Western both had 10 kills and four blocks, with Crawford adding 16 digs.
- Olsen notched the 10th double-double of her career with 45 assists and 13 digs.
- Eskridge had 12 digs and 9-1one of NKU's four aces for the match.
- NKU hit .168, while Green Bay connected at a .237 clip with consistent efforts in the latter three sets. Green Bay was a force at the net, with 11.5 blocks in the victory.
- NKU has dropped its last three matches against the Phoenix.
Up Next
- The Norse are back on the road for one match next weekend, making the short trip to Dayton, Ohio to take on Wright State on Friday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m. ET. The match will be broadcast on ESPN3 with streaming available on computers, tablets and smart phones through WatchESPN and the ESPN App.
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