GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Northern Kentucky volleyball fell to 4-5 after a four-set loss to Florida A&M in the final match of the Gator Invitational. The Rattlers moved on to 2-8 with the 25-23, 25-27, 25-17, 25-23 win over the Norse in a fierce scuffle that resulted in more than 220 combined digs and multiple personal bests for NKU players.
First Set Summary
- NKU fell behind early, trailing by as many as eight points before Haley Libs led the Norse attack with four kills in six points to help knot the score at 18-18.
- The Norse held the advantage at 23-22, but an untimely service error, followed by two attacking errors, gave FAMU the opening frame, 25-23.
- Haley Libs had an efficient first set, posting six kills on 12 swings to go along with eight digs, while Laura Crawford added three kills and six digs.
Second Set Summary
- The Norse went out early in the second set, but the Rattlers managed to tie it up at 15-15 and inch their way to a 22-21 lead. Three straight kills from Libs tied the contest at 22-22, and NKU was able to edge ahead and end the set off an ace from Georgia Childers.
- Libs was even more impressive in the second set, with eight kills on 15 attempts and seven digs.
- Libero Ashton Terrill led the Norse defense with eight digs, and senior Drew Hendricks added four kills to aid the offense.
Third Set Summary
- FAMU maintained control in the third set, hitting .196 while the Norse were held to .070. Libs registered five kills and took the bulk of NKU's attacks with 24 swings, as the set proved to be a battle of the back row.
- NKU recorded 33 digs in the set, led by Terrill with 11 while Crawford added eight and Shelby Olsen chipped in seven.
Fourth Set Summary
- Similar to the opening set, FAMU took off to an early lead and left NKU to claw its way back into the match.
- The Norse managed to close to a 20-19 disadvantage thanks to a pair of kills by freshmen Bailey Western and Maddy Weber, the latter of whom made her career debut and added three kills on seven swings for the Norse.
- The Rattlers made their way back out to a two-point lead, retaliating from a block on match point to finish the contest off with an earned kill.
Norse Notes
- Libs recorded the second 20-and-20 match of her career, putting away 24 kills and digging up 20 of FAMU's attacks.
- Two other Norse surpassed the 20-dig barrier in the setback. Terrill set a new personal best of 26 digs, while Olsen hit the 20-dig mark for the first time in her career to go with 48 assists.
- Hendricks recorded a new career best in kills with 12 terminations, and also added four blocks. Her blocking was bested only by Kaelin Gentile, who had five rejections.
- Crawford had a career-high 19 digs to go with eight kills and a pair of aces.
- Eskridge recorded 18 digs, a season high for the senior.
Up Next
- NKU has concluded its preseason slate and returns home to kick off Horizon League competition. The Norse host Wright State on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 4 p.m. inside Regents Hall. The match will be broadcast on ESPN3 with streaming available on computers, tablets and smart phones through WatchESPN and the ESPN App.
#TakeNotice
