DEKALB, Ill. – Northern Kentucky volleyball started off the Holiday Inn Express with a heartbreaking loss to Virginia in five sets, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 16-25, 15-13. The two teams traded sets with UVA winning the first, third and fifth sets, while the Norse took the second and fourth frames. NKU falls to 2-2 on the season while the Cavaliers pick up their first win of the year and advance to 1-4.
First Set Summary
- Both teams started out strong in terminating balls, with the first hitting error on either side coming 20 points into the match.
- Ultimately, a balanced Virginia offense allowed the Cavaliers to take a 25-19 set thanks to 17 kills and a .433 hitting percentage.
- Haley Libs led the Norse attack with six kills on nine swings, while Miranda Wucherer added three kills on four attempts.
- Though the Norse did not register as many digs as usual per frame, Ashton Terrill held strong with six of NKU's nine scoops in the set.
Second Set Summary
- UVA jumped out to an early lead in the second set, but a series of serving and attacking errors, followed by two kills from Wucherer, an ace from Maddy Weber and kills from Shelby Olsen and Bailey Western allowed the Norse to take an 11-8 lead.
- Virginia crept up and tied the game at 22-22, but the Norse finished the set off with a kill from Libs and one from Kaelin Gentile.
- Gentile and Wucherer paced the offense with three kills apiece, with Gentile connecting at a .600 clip while the Norse held the Cavaliers to a .167 hitting percentage, a marked improvement from the .433 hitting percentage in the opening set. Terrill had another solid set in the back row with seven digs.
Third Set Summary
- The third set mirrored the second in favor of the Cavaliers, with Virginia taking the lead at 11-10 before the Norse tied the contest up at 20-20.
- Two Norse errors gave the Cavaliers the set point, and the frame closed on a kill by Virginia.
- Libs had five kills, an ace and a block to contribute to NKU's scoring.
- Terrill upped her effort in the back row once again with nine digs.
Fourth Set Summary
- The Norse made quick work of Virginia in a 25-16 fourth set, which saw the Cavaliers hit at just a .032 clip.
- Virginia was forced into nine hitting errors thanks to five blocks, with Peytton Bagwell on four of them. Bagwell also added two kills on three swings for an efficient frame and the first two kills of her career.
Fifth Set Summary
- NKU went out to a sizeable lead in the fifth, 7-3, before Virginia rattled off a four-point run to tie it up and hold pace throughout the remainder of the set.
- Libs held off a match point with a kill at 14-12, but in the end Virginia gained enough momentum to take the set and match.
- Seven of NKU's eight kills in the set came from Libs, who hit a blistering .500 off 12 swings.
Norse Notes
- Libs led all players with 23 kills and hit .345 throughout the match. She was just off a double-double with eight digs and added two aces.
- Terrill had her third-straight 30-dig match with 31 digs, marking the first time in the Division I era and the first in recent history that a player has had at least 30 digs in three-consecutive matches.
- Laura Crawford added 14 digs as the only other player with double-digit digs, and chipped in six kills.
- Wucherer was just off a double-double with 25 assists and nine digs, as was Shelby Olsen with 22 assists and eight digs.
- Weber had a new career high with four aces.
- Bagwell hit .400 and was responsible for six of NKU's nine blocks in the match.
- The Norse had a higher hitting percentage than the Cavaliers, going .218 compared to .197 for Virginia. However, UVA terminated 64 kills compared to 55 for the Norse.
Up Next
- NKU has two matches tomorrow to wrap up its time in Illinois. The Norse face Nevada, which also went five sets against Virginia, at 11 a.m. CT/12 p.m. ET before taking on host NIU at 7 p.m. CT/8 p.m. ET.
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