HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The 2020-21 season kicks off for the Northern Kentucky volleyball team with a trip to Dayton, Ohio, where the Norse will square off against Wright State in a matchup that pits the two Horizon League preseason favorites. NKU and WSU will play on both Feb. 1 and Feb. 2 on the Raiders' campus, with match times slated for 6 p.m.
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky University Norse (0-0 Overall, 0-0 Horizon League)
Wright State University Raiders (2-0 Overall, 2-0 Horizon League)
Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 1 and 2 – 6:00 p.m. (ET)
Dayton, Ohio | C.J. McLin Gymnasium (450)
TV (Game 1): ESPN+
TV (Game 2): ESPN+ (Link not yet available)
Stats: Live Stats
 
Quick Hitters
• NKU is coming off of a 19-13 season in which it won the Horizon League Tournament championship and played in its first-ever NCAA Tournament.
• NKU only dropped one set in its three matches, dispatching of No. 5 UIC (3-0), No. 1 Wright State (3-1) and No. 2 Milwaukee (3-0).
• NKU also earned its first top-50 RPI finish, checking in at No. 49 in the final rankings of the 2019 season. In the first ranking of the 2019 season, NKU was 43rd, which is its highest ever.
• NKU defeated Cincinnati last year, which was receiving votes in the AVCA Poll, 3-2. It marks NKU's best Division I win, as the Bearcats had an RPI of 24.
• The Norse were picked to finish second in the #HLVB Preseason Poll for the second-straight year, garnering three first-place votes and 111 points, one behind favorite Wright State.
• Northern Kentucky opens the 2020-21 season against Wright State.
• The Norse are 22-15 all-time against the Raiders. WSU claimed both regular-season meetings last year, but NKU got the win in the #HLVB Championship.
• NKU was among the nation's leaders in several statistical categories, finishing in the top-20 in attacks per set (10th, 38.62), total attacks (13th, 4,750), team digs (14th 2,151), digs per set (19th, 17.49) and total blocks (19th, 312.5).
• OH Anna Brinkmann is an All-Horizon League honoree that led the Norse at 3.00 kills per set, while also aiding on the defensive side with 3.21 digs and 0.46 blocks per set.
• Brinkmann was also an AVCA All-North Region honoree, the second Norse to earn the honor.
• L/DS Ashton Terrill is coming off a campaign in which she earned her second-straight postseason accolade. She was named an all-league honorable mention in 2019 after being a first-team performer in 2018.
• Terrill is working her way up the Norse annals, scooping 1,612 digs in her career to rank 4th all-time at NKU.
• Terrill also led the Horizon League and ranked 33rd nationally in service aces (48), while ranking 20th in the country and second in the league with 606 digs.
• Brinkmann was third in the league and 78th in the country with 41 aces.
• MB/OPP Abby Kanakry was both a Horizon League All-Freshman and All-Tournament honoree in 2019 after averaging 2.38 kills per set behind a .274 hitting percentage. She was also stout at the net with 0.69 blocks per set.
• In NKU's NCAA Tournament match against Michigan, Kanakry went off for 10 kills and hit .316.
• Fellow all-freshman team member OH Reilly Briggs returns for her second season with the Norse. Briggs was fourth on the team at 1.83 kills per set.
• S/RS Miranda Wucherer led Northern Kentucky's 6-2 rotation with 5.88 assists per set. Wucherer also contributed .59 kills per set offensively and 2.04 scoops.
• MB Natalie Hardig and MB Peytton Bagwell averaged 1.26 and 1.12 kills as well as 0.89 and 1.07 blocks per set, respectively.