HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky ended Milwaukee's 12-match winning streak and handed the Panthers their first Horizon League loss in sweeping fashion (25-16, 26-24, 25-22) on Thursday night at Regents Hall. The Norse continued their dominant net play with 15 total blocks in the match to improve to 13-7 on the year and 9-2 in league play. MKE slips to 18-7 overall and 12-1 against league opposition.

STATS LEADERS

• Scorching-hot attacking from Reilly Briggs resulted in a match-high 13 kills on the strength of a .706 attack percentage. She contributed three block assists as well.
• Sequioa Hunt led NKU's block party with nine total stuffs, including three solo. She added five kills.
• Anna Brinkmann totaled her 12^th double-double in the team's 20 matches courtesy of 11 kills and 10 digs.
• Along the back row, Anna Burke picked up a match-leading 22 scoops.
• Katy Yopko and Miranda Wucherer orchestrated NKU's offense to the tune of 21 and 17 assists, respectively.
• Abby Kanakry gave the Norse their third player with double-figure terminations, putting away 10 on the night. She also added three blocks.
• Allie Siefke also got involved in the block parade with two of the solo variety and three assisted.

 
FIRST SET SUMMARY   

• Six Norse stuffs paved the way for a 25-16 decision.
• Trailing 4-2 early, Northern Kentucky rattled off an 8-2 run to grab firm control of the set and only allowed Milwaukee to get within two, 12-10, just once.
• Hunt finished with four blocks in the frame and registered three of her terminations.
• Brinkmann paved the way for NKU's balanced attack with four kills, while every Norse that recorded a kill in the set had at least two.
• The Norse terminated 15 attacks and had just four errors. On the other side of the net, the Panthers notched 10 kills and had eight miscues.

 
SECOND SET SUMMARY   

• A back-and-forth affair took place with 12 ties and six lead changes in the set, but it was once again Northern Kentucky's dominance at the net that made the difference.
• The Norse finished with 17 kills and just three attack errors, while the Panthers registered 19 terminations and six hitting miscues, five of which came via NKU's block.
• Brinkmann, Briggs and Kanakry tallied five kills apiece, while Briggs and Siefke each contributed three block assists.
• Trailing 21-20, a team effort led to three-straight Norse points. Kanakry started with a kill, Brinkmann and Hunted added a block, and Brinkmann finished it off with a kill.
• After MKE tied it at 24, NKU used a termination by Brinkmann followed with Siefke and Briggs on a block to win the stanza.
• Burke was dominant on the back row, tallying 10 digs.

 
THIRD SET SUMMARY 

• The Norse jumped up early, 6-2, only to see the Panthers rally and take a 14-11 advantage.
• NKU fought back with four-straight attack errors by MKE - two of which came via solo blocks from Hunt – which were part of a 6-0 Norse run to take a 20-16 lead.
• Joy Banks, Brinkmann and Kanakry posted kills in three of the final four points of the match to close out the set, 25-22.
• Briggs led the way with five more terminations, while Hunt contributed four total blocks.

 
MATCH NOTES   

• Northern Kentucky now has two of the top-28 block totals recorded in a three-set match in the nation this year. The team's 14.0 blocks against Cleveland State is tied for 28^th, while tonight's 15.0 are tied for 10^th-most in a three-set contest.
• The Norse hit at a .347 clip for the match and held the Panthers, who are hitting at .267 on the season, to just .183 hitting.
• From her right-side position, Briggs has torched opposing teams in the last 15 matches with 3.36 kills per set on the strength of a .328 attack percent.
• In her last six matches, Hunt is averaging 1.86 blocks per set. She is now blocking opposition at 1.19 per set in all matches, including 1.67 per frame in league play.
• Brinkmann is closing in on 1,000 career kills. Thanks to her 11 terminations tonight, she now has 991. Her 10 scoops also puts Brinkmann at 961 career digs.
• Burke has now recorded 20-or-more digs eight times this year.

 
NEXT UP 
Senior night festivities are on tap for the Norse when they host Green Bay on Friday, Oct. 29, at Regents Hall. Brinkmann, Natalie Hardig and Wucherer will be honored in a pre-match ceremony. First serve is at 6 p.m.