NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Northern Kentucky volleyball kicked off the 2018 season in dramatic fashion, edging Toledo in five sets in the first match of the Golden Dome Invitational. The Norse won the first two sets handily, 25-16 and 25-21, before Toledo squeaked out 28-26 and 25-23 sets in the third and fourth. The deciding set was a back-and-forth battle with the Norse holding on for a 17-15 victory.
The Quote
"For an opening day win, we did a good job gritting the fifth set out. We're excited to get the w. In spurts of the game, we went on really nice serving runs. Averaging two blocks per set was a goal of ours, and we were able to meet that in our first outing, so it's great to be able to meet goals early on." – Head Coach
Liz Hart
First Set Summary
- After holding pace with the Rockets for the first eight points, the Norse took off to a 14-5 lead and didn't look back en route to the 25-16 set win.
- Four Norse had three kills each, with Miranda Wucherer and Kaelin Gentile hitting .429.
- Wucherer dished out seven assists, while Shelby Olsen had eight.
- NKU's trademark defense notched 17 digs in the opening set, led by Haley Libs with seven scoops while Ashton Terrill contributed four.
Second Set Summary
- The second set began with four-straight errors between the Norse and the Rockets, and the two teams traded points until the 13-13 mark, when Toledo went on a four-point run to extend ahead, 17-14.
- The Norse retaliated after taking a time out as back-to-back kills from Crawford and Natalie Hardig brought NKU within a point. Hardig followed up with a block and another kill to give the Norse the lead to keep momentum going as NKU closed the frame on an 11-3 run.
- Hardig paced the Norse in the second set with three kills and was also a presence at the net with four blocks.
- Terrill picked up another seven digs, while Laura Crawford added five.
Third Set Summary
- NKU went out to a 6-1 lead, but Toledo clawed its way back and took a 15-11 lead after seven-straight points.
- The Norse fought to push extra points, holding off three Toledo set points before back-to-back kills from the Rockets closed the frame.
- NKU's offense was balanced between three kills apiece from Crawford, Wucherer and Gentile.
- The Norse had a defensive showing with 28 digs in the set, led by seven from Libs and Olsen.
Fourth Set Summary
- Toledo held control through the entire fourth set in order to push a deciding game.
- Libs led the charge with four kills, also leading the defense with five digs.
- Crawford and Gentile each added three kills, with Gentile hitting .500.
Fifth Set Summary
- Libs stole the show in the fifth set as she blasted four-straight kills to take the Norse from a 9-8 deficit to a 12-9 lead.
- NKU held two match points before Crawford got the final two kills of the match to give NKU the victory.
- Libs put away six kills in the fifth, also digging up a pair of Toledo attacks. Hardig and Crawford each added three kills.
Norse Notes
- Libs led all players with 16 kills and notched the 38th double-double of her career with 23 digs. She also added three blocks in the victory.
- Wucherer became the first Norse since Oct. 29, 2005 to record a triple-double. In her career debut, the rookie had 10 kills, 25 assists and 14 digs. The last player to record a triple double was Andrea Lanham at Indianapolis with 42 assists, 10 kills and 11 digs.
- Olsen and Crawford also added double-doubles to their stat lines, as Olsen dished out 30 assists and had 14 digs while Crawford had 13 kills at a .258 clip and dug 17 balls. The last time NKU had three or more players record double-doubles in the same match was on Nov. 8, 2017 against Cleveland State, when Libs, Olsen and Crawford were also involved in the feat.
- Terrill opened up the season with 20 digs.
- Hardig debuted with six kills, eight blocks and five digs.
- Gentile added 10 kills and seven blocks.
- The Norse had 99 digs throughout the five sets. The last time NKU had at least 90 digs was on Oct. 22, 2017 against IUPUI.
Up Next
- NKU takes on Weber State, which fell to host Notre Dame in three sets earlier this evening, tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. The Norse then face the Fighting Irish at 7 p.m. in Saturday's marquee match, which will be broadcast on ACC Extra.
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