DAYTON, Ohio – Northern Kentucky volleyball extended its winning streak to seven matches after upsetting top-seeded Wright State in the semifinals of the 2019 Horizon League Volleyball Championship, 25-19, 21-25, 27-25, 25-22. The Norse advance to their second championship in as many years with a 18-12 record.
First Set Summary
- Northern Kentucky used a solo block from Abby Kanakry to bolster its momentum early on, outscoring the Raiders 4-1 to pull ahead by a pair of points, 7-5. The Norse allowed the Raiders to string together just three runs for the remainder of the set, going on to win the opening frame by six points.
- Laura Crawford led NKU with four kills, but the Norse also saw impact from both middles as Bailey Western and Peytton Bagwell added three kills apiece. Ashton Terrill led the back row with seven digs.
- The Norse hit .222 in the opening frame and held Wright State to a .093 hitting percentage.
Second Set Summary
- The Norse started the second set out on a 5-1 run, but the Raiders managed to tie the set up at the 11-11 mark. After the Raiders led for much of the frame, NKU used a four-point run, including two kills from Kanakry and an ace by Anna Brinkmann, to pull ahead, 20-19.
- However, the Raiders closed the frame out on a 6-1 run to tie the contest up at a game each.
- Kanakry terminated six kills on 14 swings to lead the Norse attack while Brinkmann added three. Terrill picked up eight digs and Crawford chipped in six.
Third Set Summary
- As in the previous set, Northern Kentucky established an early lead before Wright State tied the frame up at the 17-17 mark. The two teams went point-for-point until NKU had back-to-back blocks for a 23-21 advantage, prompting a WSU timeout.
- Wright State sided out following the timeout and eventually tied it up once more at 24-24. The Norse used kills from Kanakry, Crawford and Brinkmann to claim their second set.
- Brinkmann had five kills on nine swings and Kanakry had four terminations on eight attempts. Both teams terminated at a high percentage as NKU hit .314 and Wright State .311 despite six Norse blocks.
Fourth Set Summary
- Wright State hit .395 in the final frame, but the Norse hit lights out at .463 in the final frame, terminating 20 kills on 41 attempts.
- The Raiders held the advantage late in the deciding set, but a three-point run allowed NKU to take a 21-20 lead. The Norse used two kills from Brinkmann and one from Kanakry to set up match point, after which Crawford tooled the WSU block for the win.
- NKU's rightside attack paved the way for the win as Reilly Briggs had six kills on eight swings while Kanakry added five on 10 attempts.
Norse Notes
- Both teams terminated at a high percentage, with NKU edging WSU in the category with a .280 hitting percentage compared to a .269 clip for the Raiders.
- The Norse dominated on the block with 13 rejections and allowing just four Wright State blocks. Western led the way with seven blocks while Brinkmann tied her career high of six blocks.
- Kanakry had 16 kills and a .400 hitting percentage to lead the Norse attack, also adding a trio of blocks.
- Brinkmann and Crawford both added double-doubles as Brinkmann terminated 14 attacks to go with 10 digs while Crawford had 11 kills and 15 digs.
- Briggs also reached double-digit kills with 11.
- Terrill had 22 digs to lead the back-row defense.
Up Next
- The Norse will appear in their second Horizon League Championship final, and will face the winner of No. 2 Milwaukee vs. No. 3 Green Bay. The contest will be tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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