HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky volleyball extended its winning streak to five matches with a four-set win over Oakland. The Norse steadily improved throughout the course of the match, winning 23-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-9. NKU advances to 18-8 overall and 10-5 in Horizon League play while the Golden Grizzlies drop to 10-16 (16-9 HL).
First Set Summary
- NKU took a sizable lead over the Golden Grizzlies in the opening set, leading by as many as seven points, but Oakland used a 5-0 run to get within two points of the Norse. The Golden Grizzlies closed in more and used four kills in the final five points to take the frame.
- Haley Libs and Bailey Western paced NKU's offense with three kills apiece, but the Norse back row had a good start led by Ashton Terrill's seven digs while setters Miranda Wucherer and Shelby Olsen each added five scoops.
Second Set Summary
- The Golden Grizzlies carried momentum over from the first set and took the lead mid-way through the second set with a 17-12 advantage, but NKU found ways to score late in the set. Olsen and Terrill added timely aces after a statement block by Laura Crawford, Natalie Hardig and Anna Brinkmann, which allowed NKU to tie it up at 23-23 before kills by Western and Libs finished it off.
- Libs and Western added three more kills, and Terrill held down the back row with nine digs.
Third Set Summary
- NKU started the third set on an 8-2 run and held Oakland at nearly a 10-point cushion for much of the stanza.
- The Norse hit .306 and kept the Golden Grizzlies at a .121 hitting percentage in the frame, thanks to strong net play with four blocks. Hardig and Crawford each added three blocks, with Crawford adding four kills on seven swings.
- Libs led the Norse in scoring with six kills on eight attempts to go with a pair of aces and three digs.
Fourth Set Summary
- The Norse saved their strongest set for last, hitting .412 with just one error while holding Oakland to a -.103 clip. NKU only had three kills, led by Crawford with three terminations on as many attempts, but the Norse also scored three points from serving and six off the block.
- Western and Brinkmann each contributed three rejections, while Hardig and Peytton Bagwell each came up with two blocks.
Norse Notes
- Libs recorded her 21st double-double of the year with 14 kills and 10 digs. Wucherer and Olsen also had double-doubles with 23 assists/10 digs and 22 assists/14 digs, respectively. The match marks the second-straight that all three have posted a double-double. Libs and Olsen also added two aces apiece to their stat lines.
- Crawford joined Libs in double figures with 10 kills and rejected six attacks to tie her season high.
- Western was just shy of 10 kills with nine terminations, hitting .333 and tying her season high of seven blocks.
- Brinkmann added seven kills, a career-high five blocks and three aces.
- Hardig led the Norse at the net with eight blocks and also chipped in five kills.
- Terill racked up 19 digs and also added a pair of aces.
- NKU had its strongest match of the season at the net with 17.0 blocks. The team also had another impressive night from the service line with nine aces and just four errors.
- The Norse hitting percentage increased substantially in each frame as NKU hit .082, .238, .306 and .412 in the first, second, third and fourth, respectively.
Up Next
- NKU's regular season comes to a close tomorrow when the Norse host Cleveland State for Senior Day at 4 p.m. ET. The Vikings are coming off a five-set loss at Wright State tonight, but are still in the running for the top seed in the Horizon League Tournament as dependent upon results for Green Bay. Prior to the match, NKU will honor Libs, the team's lone senior. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN3.
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