GREEN BAY, Wis. – Northern Kentucky volleyball had a dominant semifinal performance against No. 2 seed Cleveland State, sweeping the reigning tournament champions to move on to the championship game, 25-20, 25-22, 27-25. The Norse move to 21-8 overall and enter the championship final riding an eight-match winning streak, and the Vikings close their season with a 17-12 mark.
First Set Summary
- NKU edged the Vikings in the first set in an efficient set by both teams, as the Norse hit at a .333 clip while the Vikings posted a .343 hitting percentage.
- Haley Libs led the Norse with six kills and hit .357, and Anna Brinkmann had seven digs to anchor the back row.
- The Norse held the advantage for the entire game and used aggressive serving to set up for the win. Brinkmann, Shelby Olsen and Miranda Wucherer each had an ace in the frame.
Second Set Summary
- The Vikings were held to a .082 clip and 10 kills in the second set while the Norse terminated 17 attempts, led by Natalie Hardig with five kills on 10 swings.
- While the first set was offense-focused, both teams upped their defensive production with 60 combined digs. Ashton Terrill and Wucherer led the Norse with seven digs, while Libs and Olsen chipped in six apiece.
Third Set Summary
- NKU went the distance against Cleveland State in the final set and held off a 5-0 run from the Vikings. CSU held set point at 25-24, but Peytton Bagwell had a clutch kill to tie the contest up at 25-25. NKU gained match point off a Cleveland State error and Wucherer served an ace to send the Norse to the championship game.
- The final four points were hotly contested with three challenges issued between both teams. Only one was reversed, which was Bagwell's kill that touched the CSU block and prevented the match from going an extra set.
- Brinkmann added four kills on six swings to pace the NKU offense, and Terrill led the defense with eight digs. Brinkmann also added two aces in the set.
Norse Notes
- The Norse will appear in their first-ever Division I conference championship match.
- Libs notched her 24th double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs.
- Both setters also recorded double-doubles, with Olsen dishing out 18 assists to go with 13 digs while Wucherer had 16 assists and 15 digs.
- Brinkmann was just shy of a double-double with eight kills and 16 digs and she led the Norse from the service line with four aces.
- Terrill had 19 digs to lead the back row.
- NKU's middles had another impactful match with Hardig hitting .381 off nine kills while Bailey Western added five kills. Each of them had four blocks in the win.
Up Next
- The Norse face host Green Bay tomorrow with a trip to the NCAA Championship on the line. First serve against the Phoenix is slated for 2 p.m. CT/3 ET and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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