Haley Libs Zach Born
Chloe Smith
2
Cleveland State CSU 17-11, 11-5 HL
3
Winner Northern Kentucky NKU 19-8, 11-5 HL
Cleveland State CSU
17-11, 11-5 HL
2
Final
3
Northern Kentucky NKU
19-8, 11-5 HL
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Cleveland State CSU 21 27 28 15 9 (2)
Northern Kentucky NKU 25 25 26 25 15 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

@NKUNorseVB earns emotional Senior Day victory, ties for second in Horizon League standings

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky volleyball gave lone senior Haley Libs a memorable Senior Day as the Norse defeated Cleveland State in five sets in the final match of the regular season. With the 25-21, 25-27, 26-28, 25-15, 15-9 win, NKU finishes the regular season at 19-8 and 11-5 in Horizon League play while the Vikings drop to 17-11 (11-5 HL). The Norse recorded their highest finish in the Horizon League in a tie for second place.
 


First Set Summary
  • NKU held Cleveland State to a .025 hitting percentage in the opening frame, allowing the Vikings to terminate only 10 attacks. The Vikings challenged NKU's lead throughout the frame, but the Norse came out of a timeout and ended the set on a 4-1 run.
  • Libs had four kills on nine swings with no errors, but also led the Norse defense with eight digs. Ashton Terrill added four digs, while Natalie Hardig took charge at the net with a pair of blocks.
 
Second Set Summary
  • Vikings used a string of NKU errors to take a 20-18 lead and fought off a late run by the Norse to tie the match up at a set apiece.
  • The second set featured a combined 64 digs between the teams, with Libs adding another eight to her stat line while Anna Brinkmann tallied seven digs to go with four kills. Laura Crawford led the Norse in attacking with five kills at a .556 clip.
 
Third Set Summary
  • Cleveland State's block perked up in the third and showcased why the Vikings are the No. 10 blocking team in the nation with eight rejections. However, the Norse still had the edge on offense with 20 kills compared to 14 for the Vikings.
  • Libs nearly had a double-double in the third set alone with nine kills and 13 digs. Brinkmann added double-digit digs as well in the frame, with 11.
 
 Fourth Set Summary
  • The Norse pushed a fifth set by hitting .308 in the fourth frame with just three errors. NKU started the set off on a 7-2 run and eventually extended out to a 10-point lead.
  • Brinkmann and Bailey Western each had four kills while Libs added three to go with six more digs. NKU also had a strong serving set with an ace from Brinkmann and Terrill while not committing any errors.
 
 Fifth Set Summary
  • NKU used its momentum from the fourth set to establish an 8-4 lead with three-straight blocks. Brinkmann clamped down on the right side for a solo block before Crawford and Natalie Hardig bookended a Cleveland State timeout on the Vikings' outside hitter. From there, the Norse maintained the lead for the 15-9 set win.
  • Cleveland State was held to just three kills while committing six errors in the final set. NKU's outsides led the team in attacking with Brinkmann and Libs both registering three kills and no errors.
 
Norse Notes
  • NKU closes the regular season on a six-match winning streak.
  • The Norse had not defeated Cleveland State since Oct. 13, 2015, when the Norse won in five inside Regents Hall. The victory snapped an eight-match losing streak to the Vikings.
  • NKU's second-place finish in the Horizon League standings marks the highest conference finish for the Norse since transitioning to Division I.
  • Libs recorded her 22nd double-double of the season with 21 kills and a new career-high 37 digs. Her 37 digs tie Lauren Hurley's 2016 Division I-era single-match record, set on Nov. 18 against Valparaiso in the first round of the Horizon League Championship. Libs also added three blocks to her impressive stat line and committed only two errors in the entire match.
  • Miranda Wucherer posted the fourth triple-double of her career with 10 kills, 34 assists and 12 digs.
  • Libs, Wucherer and Olsen have all had double-doubles in the last three matches. Olsen dished out 26 assists while picking up 14 digs.
  • Brinkmann also added a double-double with 14 kills and a career-best 26 digs. The last time NKU had two players with 20+ digs was on Oct. 19, 2018, when Terrill and Libs had 33 and 22 digs, respectively, at Green Bay.
  • Crawford rounded out NKU's double-digit kills performers with 12 kills and added three blocks.
  • Terrill added 18 digs and dished out six assists in transition.
  • Western was just off 10 kills once more with nine terminations and led the Norse block with seven rejections.
 
Up Next
  • With NKU's win tonight, Green Bay won the outright title and will host the 2018 Horizon League Championship, Nov. 16-18.
  • The Norse tied Cleveland State for second place in the regular-season Horizon league standings, but the Vikings edge the Norse in the tiebreaker to take the No. 2 seed in the Horizon League Championship. The Norse receive the No. 3 seed and will take on No. 6 seed Wright State, which defeated Youngstown State this evening to finish with a 7-9 record to claim the last spot in the tournament. The Raiders jumped Oakland in the standings after the Golden Grizzlies lost to IUPUI today and finished with a 6-10 record.
  • The quarterfinal against the Raiders will take place on Friday, Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. With a win, NKU will go on to face Cleveland State at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 17.
 
#TakeNotice
 
Print Friendly Version