ROCHESTER, Mich. – Northern Kentucky volleyball picked up its first Horizon League road victory this season, downing Oakland in four sets, 18-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21. The Norse move to 11-4 overall and 3-1 in league action while the Golden Grizzlies fall to 5-10 (1-3 HL).

First Set Summary

• Following a slow start, NKU rattled off four-straight points with two kills from both Anna Brinkmann and Kaelin Gentile to take an 8-7 lead. However, the Golden Grizzlies quickly regained the lead and increased their lead steadily until taking a 25-18 set win.
• Oakland hit .357 in the opening frame while the Norse were held to just .130. Gentile hit .500 with four kills to lead NKU while Brinkmann, Haley Libs and Bailey Western each added three kills.
• Ashton Terrill had a hot start in the back row, picking up 10 digs.

Second Set Summary

• The Norse trailed for the first half of the second set before tying up the contest at 15-15 off back-to-back kills from Libs and battled for the lead in the ensuing points. The Norse ended the set on a 6-2 run.
• Libs had a hot hitting set with five kills and no errors on 11 swings, while Natalie Hardig was efficient with four kills and a .667 clip.
• NKU's strong serving resulted in three aces, with back-to-back aces from Terrill in the opening points. 

Third Set Summary

• NKU battled from behind once again, trailing by as many as four points before a 5-1 run knotted the contest up at 21-21. The Norse pulled ahead off an Oakland error and assisted block from Gentile and Hardig before Libs capped off the frame with a kill.
• Libs picked up even more momentum in the third, putting away five kills on just seven attempts. The Norse held Oakland under .150 for the first set of the match as the Golden Grizzlies committed eight hitting errors.

Fourth Set Summary

• NKU committed just three errors in the final set, led by Libs with six kills and no errors while hitting .462 and Hardig's three kills on four swings.
• The Norse held control for the entire set, and fought off a late Oakland run that got the Golden Grizzlies within two points. An Oakland service error ended its run and gave NKU the match point, with Laura Crawford delivering the final blow with a kill.

Norse Notes

• Libs posted her seventh-straight double-double with 19 kills and 12 digs. She also had her highest hitting percentage of the season, hitting .429 in the win.
• Shelby Olsen had a 20-assist, 10-dig double-double, while Miranda Wucherer dished out 22 assists and had eight digs.
• Terrill led the back row with 22 digs and was strong from the service line with three aces.
• Brinkmann and Gentile both added eight kills from the right pin, and Hardig and Western added seven kills each out of the middle. Hardig also added four blocks to pace the team's net defense.
• The win is just the second in the all-time series with Oakland. The Golden Grizzlies have won 11 of the 13 meetings. It also marks the first-ever win in Rochester.

Up Next

• NKU takes little time before hitting the road again when it heads to Youngstown, Ohio, for a mid-week contest with Youngstown State on Wednesday, Oct. 3. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the match will be carried on ESPN3.

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