BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Northern Kentucky volleyball ended the nonconference portion of the schedule on a high note, sweeping Samford (25-20, 25-12, 28-26) before adding a second sweep over Tulsa (25-19, 25-21, 25-22). NKU finishes the nonconference portion of its schedule with a 7-5 record, which included victories over all three opponents that made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2018.
Match 1 Recap: NKU 3, Samford 0
First Set Summary
- Samford went out to an early lead, but the Norse went on a six-point run, including a pair of aces by Miranda Wucherer and a pair of blocks on Samford's outside hitter, to take an 11-8 lead and prompt a Samford timeout. Wucherer added another ace out of the timeout and Natalie Hardig put away a kill before NKU's 8-0 run came to an end.
- NKU suffered a run of miscues, allowing Samford to get within striking distance at 15-14. However, the Norse pulled back ahead and got out to a six-point lead. Samford fought off two set points before the frame ended on a Bulldog service error.
- Abby Kanakry led NKU's offense with four kills while Laura Crawford added three kills. Hardig paced NKU at the net with three blocks, while Anna Brinkmann and Shelby Olsen led the back row with three digs each.
- Samford had a 15-10 advantage in kills registered in the set, but the Bulldogs also committed nine hitting errors compared to just four by the Norse.
Second Set Summary
- The set was a point-for-point battle until the 8-8 mark, when NKU was able to pull ahead with a three-point run. The Norse went out to a 13-9 advantage following back-to-back Wucherer aces and were able to retain the lead from there.
- NKU's strong serving set the Norse up for success as the team had six aces in the frame.
- The Norse ended the set on a 6-0 run, including three aces by Ashton Terrill.
- Kanakry added four more kills, while Brinkmann had three kills on five swings. As a team, NKU hit .522 in the frame, connecting on 13 kills with just one error, while Samford hit .148.
Third Set Summary
- As in the previous set, both teams traded points to start the frame. A run of four Norse miscues allowed Samford to take an 11-8 edge. The Norse had to fight to tie the set up, which they finally did at the 23-23 mark and held off a set point at 24-23.
- Trailing 26-25, Crawford put a kill away to tie the contest up, and Anna Burke gave NKU match point with an ace. A Samford attack error ended the contest in favor of the Norse.
- Crawford led the offense with six kills while Kanakry and Brinkmann added three each.
- Both teams struggled in hitting percentage, as NKU had 14 kills but countered that with 12 errors for a .042 hitting percentage. Samford had eight kills and 10 miscues, hitting -.042 in the final frame.
Norse Notes
- NKU held its third opponent under a .100 hitting percentage this season, as the Bulldogs hit .071 in the match. The Norse also had an 8.0-5.0 advantage in blocks and out-dug Samford, 46-43.
- The Norse served up 12 aces, while allowing just two by the Bulldogs. Wucherer led the way with six aces, which ties NKU's Division I-era single-game record. Jenna Schreiver had six aces in a five-setter against Manhattan on Sept. 8, 2012, and Shelby Olsen had six in a road sweep of UIC on Nov. 2, 2018.
- Ashton Terrill also added four aces in the victory.
- Kanakry and Crawford each had 11 kills and two blocks, with Crawford adding six digs.
- Brinkmann had six kills and six digs.
- Wucherer dished out 22 assists and added seven digs to her six aces.
- Olsen had her second-straight double-double with 10 assists and a team-high 12 digs.
- Terrill also reached double figures in digs, with 10.
Match 2 Recap: NKU 3, Tulsa 0
First Set Summary
- NKU was able to pull away from the Golden Hurricane at the 6-6 mark, as the Norse went on a 4-1 run. Back-to-back aces from Crawford later put the Norse ahead, 13-10.
- The Norse extended the lead even further with a four-point run that featured a pair of blocks on the pins and kills from Crawford and Kanakry, giving NKU a 23-15 edge.
- Tulsa fought off three set points, but the Norse finally ended the frame with a kill from Kanakry, who ended the set with four kills.
- Both teams hit efficiently, with NKU committing just two errors for a .303 clip while Tulsa hit .229.
Second Set Summary
- NKU jumped out to an 8-3 lead thanks to a quick offense and strong serving, as Tulsa called for a break in action following back-to-back aces by Terrill. However, Tulsa used a .538 hitting percentage to tie the contest up at 10-10 and the two teams went back-and-forth from there.
- NKU pulled ahead, 19-16, following a 4-0 run, capped off by another pair of consecutive aces, this time by Bailey Western.
- Kanakry had three of NKU's final four points and finished with eight terminations in the frame.
- Both teams were efficient once again, with NKU hitting .359 while the Golden Hurricane hit .371. Both teams committed just three errors each.
Third Set Summary
- Early miscues by Tulsa allowed NKU to take an early lead in the final frame. However, the Norse later committed a run of errors that allowed the Golden Hurricane to get within one point, 12-11.
- The Norse puled ahead again, and despite Tulsa closing in at 22-20, finished the match by taking advantage of a pair of Tulsa miscues before a Kanakry kill capped things off.
Norse Notes
- Kanakry notched a new career high of 17 kills and hit at a .394 clip. She also added two blocks.
- The Norse had another strong serving match, led by a career-high five aces from Terrill. Western and Crawford each added two aces.
- Terrill also led NKU in the back row with 15 digs. Brinkmann also hit double figures with 11 digs and Olsen was just off another double-double with 12 assists and nine digs.
- NKU hit .202 for the match while Tulsa hit .183. The Norse had 10 aces to Tulsa's two, but the Golden Hurricane had the defensive edge with a 9.0-8.0 advantage in blocks and out-dug NKU, 58-49.
- Kanakry and Western were named to the all-tournament team. Kanakry led the team with 3.27 kills per set, hitting .286 for the three matches. She also added 0.55 blocks per set. Western hit .283 en route to 2.09 kills per set, and averaged 0.82 blocks per set.
Up Next
- NKU kicks off the Horizon League portion of its schedule next weekend at home. The Norse first welcome Youngstown State to Regents Hall at 6 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 27, with a broadcast on ESPN+. NKU then takes on Cleveland State at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28.
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