CHICAGO – Northern Kentucky volleyball won its fourth-straight match, and its third sweep in that span, with a 25-22, 28-26, 25-20 win over UIC. The Norse put a damper on UIC's Senior Night and avenged a five-set loss from Oct. 7 in Regents Hall to move to 17-8 overall and 9-5 in Horizon League play while jumping the Flames to sit at third in the league standings. UIC drops to 15-11 (8-5 HL).
First Set Summary
- The Norse trailed the Flames by as many as six points in the opening set, but a 7-0 run gave new life to the Norse offense. After UIC called a timeout when the Norse came within two points at 16-14, Shelby Olsen rattled off back-to-back-to-back aces to force the Flames to call for another break in the action.
- NKU used another run of five points to push ahead, 23-19, and Haley Libs had two kills to cap off the set.
- Libs registered six kills in the opening frame and kept pace defensively as well with five digs. Ashton Terrill got off to a strong start with nine digs, while Olsen added six.
Second Set Summary
- NKU's offense got rolling as the Norse earned 22 of their 25 points from kills and aces while two more came from blocking.
- Bailey Western had five kills at a .455 clip, while Libs added four kills and four digs.
- UIC held three set points after clawing back from a six-point deficit to the Norse. Laura Crawford staved off the first two set points with tools off the block before Anna Brinkmann tied the set up for the final time at 26-26. Western converted on a kill and the Norse took a 2-0 lead following a UIC miscue.
Third Set Summary
- The Norse took control early on thanks to a six-point serving run from Libs, which featured the senior delivering a pair of aces in the span. NKU kept the pressure on for the remainder of the match for the five-point win.
- Though the Norse terminated just 10 balls in the set, led by Libs with three kills, NKU's aggressive serving resulted in six aces and kept the UIC offense out of system.
Norse Notes
- Libs recorded her 20th double-double of the season with 13 kills and 12 digs. She also added a season-high three aces.
- Two NKU Division I-era records were broken or tied in the match. Terrill became NKU's Division I-era single season digs record holder, surpassing Mel Stewart's 2015 record of 534 digs. Terrill currently has 552 digs this season. The sophomore libero had a tremendous impact in the back row with 21 digs and played a large role in keeping Kiera James, who is the top terminator in Horizon League matches, to just nine kills and a .095 hitting percentage.
- Olsen tied NKU's Division I-era single-match aces record with six points from the service line. She matches Jenna Schreiver's six aces against Manhattan on Sept. 8, 2012, which was a five-set match. Olsen also added her 17th double-double of the season with 16 assists and 10 digs.
- Miranda Wucherer also registered a double-double, her eighth of the year, with 22 assists and 12 digs.
- The Norse had arguably their best performance from the service line this season with 12 aces and just two errors. Brinkmann also added a pair of aces while Wucherer chipped in one as well.
Up Next
- The Norse return home to wrap up the regular season, facing Oakland on Friday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. ET before hosting Cleveland State for Senior Day on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 4 p.m.
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