MILWAUKEE, Wis. – A furious fifth-set comeback, which included staving off six-straight match points, fell short in extra points as Northern Kentucky lost to UIC (16-25, 25-19, 25-22, 24-26, 18-16) and finished as the runner-up in the 2021 Horizon League Volleyball Tournament. The Norse slide to 20-8 on the year, while UIC moves to 20-11.  

STATS LEADERS

• A trio of Norse finished with double-figure kill totals, paced by Anna Brinkmann's 18-kill, 13-dig double-double.
• Reilly Briggs finished with 14 kills and career-high eight blocks.
• Abby Kanakry chipped in with 10 kills.
• Anna Burke's 18 digs led a four-pack of Norse with double-digit digs. Lillian Leiner and Miranda Wucherer added 10 apiece to join Burke and Brinkmann.
• Wucherer finished with a double-double of her own with 23 assists as well.
• Sequoia Hunt finished with seven blocks.

 
FIRST SET SUMMARY   

• Leading 3-2, NKU scored four in a row to force a UIC timeout.
• The Norse then tallied seven of the next 10 points to grab a 14-5 advantage, resulting in another Flames timeout.
• Northern Kentucky extended the margin to 11 before UIC ran off a string of four points.
• The damage had been done and NKU went on to a 25-16 win.
• Net defense was pivotal as the Norse blocked five Flame attacks to hold UIC to a negative hitting percentage with nine kills and 11 hitting errors. Five of those miscues came via block with Hunt and Briggs registering three apiece.
• Briggs had four of NKU's seven kills in the set.

 
SECOND SET SUMMARY   

• It was UIC's turn to jump out early, building a 12-6 lead that caused NKU to call both of its timeouts.
• The Norse twice cut the deficit to three, but the Flames regained control at 18-11.
• A 4-1 spurt by Northern Kentucky got it within four, 19-15, forcing UIC to use a timeout.
• While the Norse pulled within a pair on three-different occasions, the Flames closed the set 25-21.
• UIC terminated 18 attacks compared to just nine from NKU, including four from Brinkmann.

 
THIRD SET SUMMARY 

• In a tightly contested first portion of the set, it took three-straight Norse points to break it open, 13-9.
• UIC was up to the task and battled back to claim an 18-17 advantage.
• NKU responded with three of the next four points, but UIC countered with two-straight again.
• After the Norse tied it at 21, Brinkmann put away a lengthy rally to see them regain the lead and force the Flames to call timeout.
• The lead changes weren't finished, as another mini UIC rally saw it pull ahead 23-22 en route to the 25-22 decision.
• Both teams terminated 15 attacks in the set, but Northern Kentucky committed four more errors, 8-4, which proved to be the difference.
• Briggs and Kanakry had four and three terminations, respectively, to lead NKU.
• Leiner had six of her scoops.

 
FOURTH SET SUMMARY 

• The Flames opened up a 7-1 lead only to see the Norse storm back with a 10-2 run.
• UIC regrouped and regained a three-point margin at 19-16.
• However, Northern Kentucky was up for another rally and used three-straight Brinkmann kills to pull ahead 24-21.
• The Flames responded with three points of their own to even the score at 24.
• Another Brinkmann kill was followed by Natalie Hardig putting away an overpass to send the match to set No. 5 with a 26-24 decision.
• The Norse held a 17-12 margin in kills.
• Brinkmann had six kills and Kanakry and Briggs respectively added five and four.
• Burke had five scoops and Hunt had three blocks.

 
FIFTH SET SUMMARY 

• Two-point mini-runs from each team opened the set, but UIC used a 7-1 spurt to take control 9-3. NKU used both timeouts during the run.
• Northern Kentucky  scored the next three points, resulting in UIC calling its first timeout.
• The Flames tallied the first point to stop the bleeding as the teams traded points until UIC scored back-to-back to give it match point at 14-8.
• Brinkmann terminated the next point and the Norse got back-to-back-to-back blocks for a four-point run. The Flames called their second timeout with a two-point lead, 14-12, at match point.
• NKU stuffed the next point as well for its fourth-straight block and Briggs tied it at 14 with a massive tool off the Flames block.
• UIC scored, but NKU's net play came up with another stuff and Joy Banks terminated the next Norse attack for a 16-15 NKU lead.
• Northern Kentucky thought it won on an attack that found the court on UIC's side, but it was called for an illegal attack and UIC scored the next three points for the set and match win, 18-16.
• The Norse finished with six blocks in the stanza, with Briggs and Hardig teaming for five assisted each.

 
MATCH NOTES   

• Northern Kentucky finished with a 16-11 advantage in blocks and 64-59 differential in digs.
• UIC had six more kills, 63-57, and one more hitting error, 33-32, than NKU.
• For their efforts in the tournament, Briggs and Brinkmann earned recognition on the all-tournament team.
• For the third-straight match, 16^th time this year and 43^rd time in her career, Brinkmann notched a double-double. Wucherer's double-double is the eighth of the season and 41^st in her career.