HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky volleyball will play on the road and at home this weekend, taking on Wright State in Dayton, Ohio, before facing IUPUI in Regents Hall. First serve against the Raiders is set for 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4. The Norse then return home to face the Jaguars at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6. Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse were one of four teams to open up Horizon League play with an unblemished record, and two of the other three teams include this week's opponents. NKU had a dominant showing against Youngstown State, hitting .419 as a team and holding the Penguins to no more than 13 points each set. The Norse followed that up with a four-set win over Cleveland State, which saw four Norse record a double-double: Anna Brinkmann, Laura Crawford, Shelby Olsen and Ashton Terrill. Terrill's marked the first of her career as she dished out a career-best 10 assists to go with 19 digs.
 
RED-HOT REDSHIRT: Redshirt-freshman Abby Kanakry had a stellar league debut, leading the Norse with 3.57 kills per set while hitting at a blazing .489 clip, ranking among the league's top-three in both categories. Her performance earned her the Nike Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week distinction, marking the first weekly honor for a Norse this season. Kanakry had the most efficient match of her young career against Youngstown State, putting away 10 kills on 15 swings with no errors for a .667 hitting percentage. She followed that up with 15 kills on 32 swings in NKU's win over Cleveland State. Kanakry is currently third on the team with 2.44 kills per set, but has been upping her average recently with four-straight matches, and six of the last seven, with double-digit kills.
 
NORSE VS. THE NATION: NKU ranks among the nation's top-50 in several statistical categories through five weeks of competition. NKU's best statistic comes from the service line, as the Norse are No. 25 nationally with 1.74 aces per set. The Norse are also ranked well in opponent hitting percentage (38^th, .164), digs per set (43^rd, 16.17) and blocks per set (49^th, 2.45). Individually, Ashton Terrill and Miranda Wucherer are tied for 61st nationally with 0.43 aces per set, and Terrill also ranks in the top-100 in digs per set as her 4.52 dps are good for 70th nationally. A pair of Norse middles also rank in the top-100 in total blocks, with Bailey Western's 60 rejections ranking 64th while Natalie Hardig sits at 88th with 57 blocks.
 
MILESTONE TRACKER: In the final tournament of the nonconference slate, junior libero Ashton Terrill broke into the all-time top-10 list for career digs, surpassing Amber Timmons' mark of 1,205 set between the 2001-04 seasons. Terrill currently has 1,250 digs and is 20 away from tying Chelsea Clark (2007-10) for eighth.
  
Senior setter Shelby Olsen is also on pace to become just the third setter in NKU history to record at least 2,000 assists and 1,000 digs. Olsen currently has 2,420 career assists, good for 10th all-time, along with 937 digs. With 63 more digs, she would join Molly Donovan (1995-98; 4,971 assists/1,005 digs) and Taylor Snyder (2013-16; 4,535 assists/1,116 digs) in the exclusive club.
 
SCOUTING WRIGHT STATE: Wright State is arguably the hottest team in the league at the moment, entering this weekend on a 13-match winning streak. The Raiders dropped their season opener to Bowling Green and have not lost a match since, including a five-set victory over Notre Dame, a team that NKU fell to in four close sets on Sept. 14. Wright State has also put opponents away quickly, with just two set losses in the past seven matches. The Raiders have excelled defensively, ranking fourth nationally with 19.06 digs per set and 24th nationally with 2.63 blocks per set, resulting in a .131 opponent hitting percentage to rank sixth in the nation. Leading the Raider defense is sophomore libero Jenna Story, who ranks second in the NCAA with 6.38 digs per set, while the net is defended by Nyssa Baker and Grace Hauck both averaging over a block per set. Sophomore setter Lainey Stephenson runs a 5-1 offense for Wright State, dishing out 9.86 assists per set. Wright State runs a balanced offense with four players averaging more than two kills per set, led by Celia Powers' 3.10 kps, along with 0.98 blocks per set, while Teddie Sauer adds 2.90 kills and 0.90 blocks per set.
  
NKU holds a 21-13 advantage in the all-time series with the Raiders and won two of the three matches from last season. The Norse most recently defeated the Raiders in five sets to advance to the semifinals of the 2018 Horizon League Championship on Nov. 16, 2018.
 
SCOUTING IUPUI: The Jaguars had a rocky nonconference schedule, going 4-9, but opened up Horizon League play with a five-set win over Cleveland State and a sweep of Oakland. IUPUI averaged 2.38 aces per set in its pair of wins, nearly more than an ace more than its season average of 1.45 aces per set. The Jaguars are also a defense-focused squad with 15.05 digs and 2.13 blocks per set. Haley Hoffman is IUPUI's first line of defense, averaging 1.31 blocks per set. The senior middle is coming off a tremendous weekend, averaging 2.13 blocks per set to be named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week. Offensively, the Jaguars rely heavily on outside hitters McKayla Wright and Hannah Oehlberg, who are averaging 3.21 and 2.76 kills per set, respectively. Wright is also the team's top server, with 0.48 aces per set.
           
NKU holds a 5-2 lead over IUPUI in the all-time series. The Norse last faced the Jaguars on Oct. 27, 2018, resulting in an NKU sweep.