HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky volleyball heads to Youngstown, Ohio, for a midweek tilt with Youngstown State on Wednesday, Oct. 3. First serve against the Penguins is slated for 6 p.m. ET and the match will be broadcast on ESPN3.
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse split their matches last weekend, falling to Cleveland State in four sets before defeating Oakland in another four-setter.
Haley Libs extended her streak of double-doubles to seven, posting 15 kills and 18 digs against the Vikings before 19 kills at a season-best .429 clip to go with 12 digs at Oakland.
Ashton Terrill continued to lead the back row with 28 digs at Cleveland State and 22 scoops versus the Golden Grizzlies. The Norse now sit at second in the Horizon League with a 3-1 record.
STAY CLASSY: Senior outside hitter
Haley Libs was named one of 30 national candidates for the Senior CLASS Award. The candidate pool will be narrowed down to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those finalists will go into a nationwide voting system distributed to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
Libs has been an exemplary student-athlete during her NKU career, leading the Norse in kills in every season while holding a flawless 4.00 grade point average. She is a two-time Horizon League All-Academic honoree and was named to the CoSIDA All-District team in 2017. Libs has been saving her best season for last, averaging 4.15 kills and 3.83 digs per set to help the Norse hold an 11-4 overall record thus far. With regards to character, she is a three-time captain as chosen by her teammates for her commitment and work ethic to both volleyball and academic studies. Finally, she has been a leader within NKU volleyball's many community outreach efforts, working with Mathew 25 Ministry, Henry Hosea Soup Kitchen and serving as an ambassador for Team IMPACT.
DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE: For the sixth-straight week, NKU tops the nation with 20.2 digs per set. Sophomore libero
Ashton Terrill ranks fifth nationally and leads the Horizon League with 5.88 digs per set, while senior outside hitter
Haley Libs is second on the team with 3.83 digs per set. Back row defense has become a staple of NKU volleyball, with the Norse ranking 16th nationally in the 2017 season.
SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE: The Penguins hold a 7-10 record and are 1-3 in the Horizon League under first-year head coach Aline Scott, with their lone win of the league slate coming against Wright State on Sept. 28. Aleah Hughes and Margaux Thompson receive the bulk of the sets for YSU and are averaging 3.10 and 3.03 kills per set, respectively. The outside hitter tandem also lead the team in the back row, with Hughes averaging 4.11 digs per set while Thompson is not far behind at 3.98 digs per set. The Penguins run a 6-2 offense with Alexia Byrnes and Giovanna Kuntze handling setting duties.
Youngstown State has become one of the top defensive teams in the Horizon League, sitting at third overall with 18.86 digs per set. The Penguins are the only team to have not two, but three players in the top-10 of the individual standings, with Reis Zandier joining Hughes and Thompson with 3.83 digs per set.
NKU has not dropped a contest against the Penguins in the six matches of the all-time series. Half of the Norse victories have been by way of a sweep, including the most recent win on Oct. 28, 2017, when NKU took down YSU 25-23, 25-22, 25-22 at home.
