DAYTON, Ohio – Northern Kentucky volleyball finished its historic run at the Horizon League Championship with a dominating performance against Milwaukee, sweeping the Panthers to earn the first tournament crown in program history. The Norse defeated the Panthers 25-17, 25-20, 25-13, to earn an automatic bid into the 2019 NCAA Volleyball Championship and extend to an eight-match winning streak.
NKU volleyball is now the third program to advance to the NCAA Tournament since Northern Kentucky's transition to Division I. Women's soccer and men's basketball both made trips in their first year eligible in the 2016-17 season, with men's basketball adding another tournament title in 2018-19. Men's golf has also had an individual qualifier after Jacob Poore won the Horizon League title in 2018.
First Set Summary
- After a tight start to the set, Northern Kentucky started to pull away at the 11-10 mark, using a 7-1 run to lead 18-11. The Norse offense kept rolling through the end of the frame as Milwaukee was unable to gain any momentum.
- The Panthers were held to a .000 hitting percentage and just seven kills, while the Norse terminated 16 balls and sided out at 72 percent.
- Anna Brinkmann led the Norse with five kills, while Laura Crawford and Peytton Bagwell picked up three each. Crawford had a tremendous defensive effort with nine digs, and Ashton Terrill was close behind at seven.
Second Set Summary
- The Norse pulled ahead, 12-7, before the Panthers started to chip away at the score. Milwaukee tied the set up at 16-16, but never held the lead for the remainder of the frame. Following an NKU timeout, the Norse put away the final three points, with Crawford setting up set point before Reilly Briggs delivered the final blow, to go up two games on the Panthers.
- Milwaukee was held to a .083 hitting percentage thanks to six blocks by the Norse, with Bagwell assisting on five of them. Abby Kanakry led NKU's offense with six kills on eight swings.
Third Set Summary
- The Norse used a 4-1 run, including back-to-back blocks by Briggs, to start the final set. From that point, Milwaukee would not string together more than two points at a time as NKU cruised to the victory.
- NKU finished the match off with an 8-3 run, punctuated by a double block from Bagwell and Kanakry.
- The Norse had just one error en route to a .379 hitting percentage while holding Milwaukee to a .027 clip. Brinkmann and Briggs led NKU's offense with three kills apiece, with Brinkmann also adding five digs.
Norse Notes
- Crawford was named the tournament MVP after averaging 3.00 kills, 3.50 digs, 0.80 blocks and 0.50 aces per set over the course of NKU's three victories. Crawford finished the championship match with seven kills and a match-high 15 digs to go with four blocks.
- Shelby Olsen and Kanakry were also named to the all-tournament team. Olsen averaged 6.90 assists and 1.70 digs per set, while Kanakry had 2.90 kps at a .406 clip to go with 1.00 block per set.
- Olsen had 19 assists in the championship game, while Kanakry added nine kills and four blocks.
- Brinkmann led the Norse offense in the match, putting away 11 kills at a .400 clip. She also added 10 digs and a pair of blocks.
- NKU had a 12-5 advantage in blocks, led by Bagwell's seven rejections. Along with Crawford and Kanakry, Western also had four blocks.
- Terrill added 14 digs as NKU out-dug the Panthers, 49-43.
- The Norse hit .264 in the match while the Panthers were held to a .035 hitting percentage, marking the seventh time this season that an opponent has been held under .100.
- Over the course of the tournament, NKU averaged 15.00 kills per set at a .299 hitting percentage while keeping opponents to a .153 clip and 12.70 kps. The Norse outblocked their opponents, 36-13. The Norse also had 16 aces through three matches while conceding just four points to opponents' serving.
Up Next
- The Norse wait to learn their first opponent in the 2019 NCAA Volleyball Championship. The selection show will be on Sunday, December 1 at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU, and the first and second rounds will be held on December 5-7 at campus sites.
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