HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – With the regular-season squarely in the rearview mirror, Northern Kentucky turns its sights on the 2021 Horizon League Volleyball Tournament. The Norse earned the No. 2 seed in the event and a bye into the semifinals, which will be played on Saturday, Nov. 20, at 9 p.m. (ET)/8 p.m. (CT) in the Klotsche Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NKU's opponent will be the highest-remaining seed following the quarterfinals on Friday.
 
Semifinals Match Information
Northern Kentucky Norse (17-7 Overall, 13-2 Horizon League)
TBD
Saturday, Nov. 20 – 9 p.m. (ET)/8 p.m. (CT)
Milwaukee, Wis. | Klotsche Center
Broadcast: ESPN+
Stats: Live Stats
#HLVB Tourney Information: Tournament Central
 
Quick Hitters
• NKU is riding a seven-match winning streak after winning at Cleveland State and Oakland last weekend, marking the second winning streak of seven matches this year.
• NKU earned the No. 2 seed in the Horizon League Tournament and plays the highest-remaining seed in the semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 20, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• With this year's #HLVB Tournament semifinal appearance, NKU has now reached at least the semifinals of its conference tournament eight-straight years - every season eligible for conference postseason tournament play (2014-present) since reclassifying to NCAA Division I in 2012.
• NKU leads the League in blocks in both all matches (2.53 bps) and league-only matches (2.94 bps).
• On Sept. 30, NKU ranked 179th in the country at 2.00 blocks per set. As of Nov. 17, the Norse ranked 32nd at 2.54 blocks per set.
• Following its tough schedule to start the season, NKU is now steadily climbing the national rankings in multiple categories, finding itself in the top-100 in blocks per set (32nd, 2.54),  total blocks (44th, 244.0), hitting percentage (71st, .241), kills per set (77th, 13.34) and assists per set (75th, 12.19).
• Northern Kentucky's nonconference slate was tough, including two teams currently ranked in the top-10 - No. 1 Louisville and No. 10 Ohio State. Missouri was receiving votes in the AVCA preseason poll. Ball State ranks 33rd in the RPI. South Dakota is also inside the RPI Top100 at 79.
• Over the last four seasons (2018-21), NKU is a combined 68-35 (.660 winning percentage).
• OH Anna Brinkmann, RS/OH Reilly Briggs and MB/OPP Abby Kanakry were named to the All-Horizon League First Team, while OH Joy Banks and MB Sequoia Hunt earned All-Freshman Team honors.
• After becoming the 20th member of NKU's 1,000-point club earlier this year, Brinkmann joined both the 1,000-dig and 1,000-kill, 1,000-dig clubs in the final weekend of the regular season, becoming the 23rd and 11th player, respectively, in each club at NKU.
• Briggs' has taken a massive step forward in production for NKU this year. Her 3.11 kills per set and .2923hitting percentage are career-highs.
• Kanakry is averaging 2.03 kills and 0.95 blocks per set, ranking 7th in the league. In league play, she is averaging 0.97 bps (9th in Horizon League).
• DS/L Anna Burke is donning the libero jersey for the Norse for the first time this year. She improved from 0.96 dps as a freshman to 1.70 dps her sophomore season and is now averaging 4.54 this year, which ranks 76th in the country and third in the Horizon League.
• Burke already has 11 20-dig matches on the season, including a career-high 29 at Ball State on Sept. 18 and 22 in NKU's sweep of Milwaukee.
• Hunt ranks third in the league in blocks in all matches (1.04 bps) and tops the rankings in league-only matches (1.25 bps).
• Banks, who was an Under Armour High School All-America Honorable Mention honoree as a senior, is contributing 1.75 kps and has four double-digit kill performances this year.
• S Katy Yopko is helping orchestrate the Norse offense, handing out 5.57 assists per set. She has four double-doubles on the year, including a 25-assist, 10-dig showing at Oakland to close out the season.
• S/RS Miranda Wucherer is a versatile asset for the Norse at her setter/rightside hitter position. She's amassed 40 double-doubles and nine triple doubles in her career, which ranks fifth among active Division I players. She already has three triple-doubles this year, which rank 5th-most in the country.
• DS Lillian Leiner registered a career-high 20 digs versus Evansville and is contributing 2.43 dps. She has nine double-figure dig efforts this year, including four in the last six matches.
• MB Natalie Hardig contributes 0.97 bps (4th in the Horizon) and 0.97 bps in league matches, ranking 8th.
• HC Liz Hart picked up her 200th-career win against Cleveland State earlier this season and was named the Horizon League Coach of the Year.