ROCHESTER, Mich. – Northern Kentucky volleyball had its second-straight sweep, this time avenging a five-set loss to Oakland on Oct. 9. With the 25-22, 25-22, 27-25 victory, the Norse move to 13-12 overall and 6-7 in Horizon League play while the Golden Grizzlies drop to 13-12 (6-7 Horizon).
First Set Summary
- Errors plagued the Norse for much of the opening set as they trailed Oakland until a three-point run tied the contest up at 15 apiece.
- NKU used a four-point run, capped off by a key block from Reilly Briggs and Natalie Hardig, to take their first lead of the match and extend out to a 20-18 advantage, prompting an Oakland timeout.
- Briggs and Anna Brinkmann terminated the final two balls of the frame and finished with six and five kills, respectively. The Norse had four with at least five digs, as Ashton Terrill had eight, Shelby Olsen added seven, and Brinkmann and Laura Crawford each had five.
Second Set Summary
- Oakland started the second set out with a 6-0 run, but the Norse were able to use a five-point run to get within a pair at 10-8 and tied it up at 13-13 following a 5-2 run.
- NKU took the lead for good at 20-19
- Brinkmann led the offense with seven kills, while Bailey Western added five.
Third Set Summary
- Contrary to the opening two sets, NKU got off to a strong start in the final frame. However, Oakland slowly chipped away at NKU's lead before taking the advantage at 19-18. The Golden Grizzlies looked to be pushing a fourth set, leading 24-22, but the Norse used a Brinkmann kill and a Terrrill ace to tie it up.
- At 25-25, Brinkmann delivered the final two kills to give NKU the victory.
Norse Notes
- Brinkmann registered a double-double with 17 kills and 10 digs. Olsen also added a double-double with 22 assists and 12 digs.
- Briggs and Western both had eight kills and three blocks in the victory.
- Terrill led the back row with 16 digs and also dished out three assists.
- NKU hit .203 and held Oakland to a .162 hitting percentage.
- The Norse also had a slight edge in both blocks, 6.0-5.5, and digs, 65-64.
Up Next
- NKU hosts league-leading Milwaukee for the final home match of the regular season on Sunday, Nov. 10. Prior to the 2 p.m. contest, NKU will honor its three seniors, Raven Barleston, Crawford and Olsen, along with Team IMPACT team members, Leah and Taylor Conrad.
#NorseUp
