GREEN BAY, Wis. – Northern Kentucky volleyball faced elimination in the Horizon League quarterfinals against Wright State, but held on to defeat its rivals in five sets, 25-21, 21-25, 22-25,25-14, 15-9. The Norse moved to 20 wins on the season for the second time since joining Division I at a 20-8 mark, while the Raiders end their season at 15-14.
First Set Summary
- NKU used a string of Raider errors to take a substantial lead in the opening frame, 20-10. The Raiders righted the ship and posted a 7-0 run to get within two points, but Bailey Western had two kills in the final four points, along with an ace from Anna Brinkmann, to take the set.
- Western, Laura Crawford and Miranda Wucherer all had three kills in the set to lead the offense. NKU's defense held Wright State to a .023 hitting percentage, led by seven digs from Haley Libs.
Second Set Summary
- NKU started off with the lead again, but Wright State chipped away at the margin and took the lead at 19-18. The Raiders finished off the set on a slew of kills and a pair of blocks.
- The Norse hit at just a .065 clip in the frame, with Wucherer and Natalie Hardig leading the way with three kills each. Ashton Terrill picked up eight digs in the back row and also served up NKU's only ace of the set.
Third Set Summary
- Wright State hit .371 in the third set, committing just four errors in the frame. The Raiders finished the set strong with a kill and a block.
- Libs posted five kills, with Western not far off at four kills. The set was highly offensive, with just 28 combined digs between the two teams.
Fourth Set Summary
- NKU opened up the set with strong play from Crawford as the rightside had a stuff block and two kills in the first three points.
- The Norse held the Raiders under .100 for the second time in the match as Wright State mustered only 10 kills at a .081 clip. NKU's serving kept the Raiders out of system for much of the frame, with the Norse recording two aces and no errors.
- Western was a perfect four-for-four in the set and the Norse defense perked back up with seven digs from Terrill and six from Libs.
Fifth Set Summary
- NKU and Wright State traded points until the 6-6 mark, when the Norse pulled away thanks to a serving run from Brinkmann that included back-to-back aces. Libs gave the Norse match point with a kill off an over pass before Hardig hammered home the final kill.
- Crawford added three kills to lead the offense, while Hardig was two-for-two on her swings in the deciding set.
Norse Notes
- NKU hit 20 wins in a season for the second time since transitioning to Division I and the third time in head coach Liz Hart's tenure.
- The Norse have made the semifinals in each year that they have been in the Horizon League.
- Crawford tied her season high in kills with 14 terminations at a .256 clip. She also added three blocks.
- Western hit .370 with 12 kills and added three blocks, while Hardig had 11 kills at a .381 clip to go with four blocks.
- Libs posted her 23rd double-double of the season with 10 kills and 20 digs.
- Wucherer dished out 28 assists, had 12 digs, seven kills and three blocks in the victory.
- Brinkmann added eight kills and 10 digs and led the team from the service line with 10 digs.
- Shelby Olsen handed out 26 assists and was just off a double-double with nine digs.
- Terrill led all players with 24 digs, had six assists and added two aces.
Up Next
- NKU takes on No. 2 seed Cleveland State tomorrow at 6 p.m. CT/7 ET. The Norse are the last team that the Vikings faced, with NKU winning in five sets on Nov. 10.
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