HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky volleyball avenged an Oct. 18 loss to UIC on Saturday afternoon, sweeping the Flames at home and snapping their seven-match winning streak, 25-19, 25-17, 25-23. The Norse move to 12-12 overall and 5-7 in Horizon League competition and the Flames drop to 19-7 (8-4 Horizon).
First Set Summary
- Northern Kentucky did not allow many UIC runs to start the match, siding out at 78 percent. The Norse used a five-point run in the middle of the frame to jump out to a 16-12 lead and were able to build slightly more upon that advantage by the set's end.
- The Norse connected at a .378 clip in the opening frame, committing just two hitting errors while terminating 19 balls. Reilly Briggs led the way with five kills on nine swings, while Anna Brinkmann added four kills on eight attempts. Ashton Terrill picked up eight digs in the back row to lead the Norse defense, followed closely by Shelby Olsen with seven scoops and Laura Crawford with six.
Second Set Summary
- The Norse used an 6-1 run to take a 13-8 lead in the second set and, following the 13-10 mark, did not allow the Flames to score more than one point at a time for the remainder of the set.
- NKU hit above .300 once more with 19 kills and a .342 hitting percentage, while the Flames were held to 11 kills and a .156 clip thanks to four Norse blocks. Peytton Bagwell, Bailey Western and Abby Kanakry each contributed two blocks, and Briggs and Crawford paced the offense with five kills each.
Third Set Summary
- UIC used a four-point run to take a 20-16 advantage, but the Norse later answered back with a 5-1 run to tie the set up at 22-22. The Norse scored the last three points of the match with kills from Kanakry and Briggs and a UIC miscue.
- Kanakry tallied five kills on eight swings, while Briggs had four terminations on five attempts.
Norse Notes
- NKU's rightside attack was nearly unstoppable as Briggs and Kanakry combined for 25 kills on 41 swings and a .537 hitting percentage. Briggs terminated on 14 of her 20 attempts with just two errors for a .600 hitting percentage, while Kanakry had 11 kills and one error on 21 attemtps for a .476 clip.
- Brinkmann and Olsen were just shy of double-doubles, with Brinkmann contributing nine kills and 12 digs while Olsen had 25 assists and nine digs.
- Terrill was also close to a double-double with 17 digs and eight assists.
- Western added eight kills at a .353 hitting percentage to go with three blocks.
- Crawford posted seven kills and nine digs, along with a pair of blocks.
- As a team, the Norse hit .317 and sided out at 69 percent. NKU also had a 7-5 advantage in blocks and out-dug UIC, 56-48.
- For the second-straight match, NKU did not commit a reception error.
Up Next
- NKU is on the road for a midweek road match at Oakland, taking on the Golden Grizzlies at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
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