HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky volleyball battled hard against the top team in the Horizon League, but fell to Cleveland State in four sets, 25-18, 25-20, 18-25, 25-23. With the loss, NKU crops to 11-13 overall and 7-8 in League play while the Vikings advance to 19-7 (12-3 HL).
First Set Summary
- Hitting errors plagued the Norse in the opening frame, as NKU recorded more terminations than CSU with 12 kills but committed nine miscues.
- After the Norse came within two points at the 14-12 mark, the Vikings ended the set on an 11-6 run, with three of the last four points coming off an NKU error.
- Haley Libs led the offense with four kills, while Kaelin Gentile added three on six swings.
- NKU had a strong back-row presence paced by McKenzie Eskridge and Laura Crawford with seven and six digs, respectively.
Second Set Summary
- Libs and Crawford combined for 10 kills on 30 swings in the second set, which once again saw the Norse edge into contention midway through the set before CSU went on a substantial run.
- Cleveland State had an impressive hitting set with 17 kills, and also added four blocks to its net play.
- In the back row for the Norse, Ashton Terrill covered the ground well with nine digs.
Third Set Summary
- NKU denied the sweep with a 25-18 third set, going point-for-point with the Vikings until Cleveland State was forced into committing key errors.
- NKU hit .278 in the frame, led by five kills on six swings from Bailey Western.
- After not recording a block in the first two sets, NKU held CSU blockless while Libs and Gentile teamed up for a pair of rejections.
Fourth Set Summary
- NKU kept the fourth set tight until Cleveland State was able to go on a six-point run that was aided by four Norse errors for a 21-16 lead.
- NKU faced four match points, including a spectacular rally at 24-22 that ended with Gentile and Crawford combining for a vital block. Unfortunately, CSU was able to use the fourth match point to deliver the final blow before NKU could push a fifth frame.
- Gentile and Crawford each recorded four kills, while Shelby Olsen carried the defense with six digs while Libs and Eskridge each added five.
Norse Notes
- Three Norse recorded double-doubles in the setback. Libs had 15 kills and 16 digs, while Crawford added 14 kills and 14 digs. Olsen dished out 50 assists, adding 13 digs to her stat line.
- Both middles hit over .230 for the match with 11 kills apiece. Gentile led the Norse block with three rejections.
- Eskridge hit the 20-dig mark for the second time this season with a match-high 21 digs.
- Terrill also recorded double-digit digs, with 15.
- NKU out-dug Cleveland State, 83-80, while the Vikings held a 9-3 blocking advantage. Both teams were able to terminate well with 56 kills each, but CSU had 10 fewer hitting errors than the Norse that aided its .222 hitting percentage for the match.
- NKU is now 3-8 all-time against the Vikings, and Cleveland State has won the past six matches.
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