CHICAGO – Northern Kentucky won the first two sets, but ultimately succumbed in a five-set decision against second-seeded UIC (19-25, 20-25, 25-17, 25-23, 15-9) in the semifinals of the Horizon League Volleyball Championship. The loss drops the Norse to 9-5 on the season, while the Flames improve to 14-2.
 
STATS LEADERS   

• Abby Kanakry had a match-high 20 kills, terminating at a .486 clip.
• Reilly Briggs contributed 17 kills while hitting .333 for the match.
• With eight kills, 29 assists and 11 digs, Miranda Wucherer just missed her third triple-double of the season. However, it was her eighth double-double.
• Terrill led all back row players in the match with 21 digs.
• The Norse also received a double-digit kill performance from Kaelin Gentile, who put away 12 attacks.
• Lillian Leiner matched her career-high with 13 digs.
   

FIRST SET SUMMARY   

• The early moments of the match featured an exchange of points, but the Norse used a 3-1 mini-run to get the first two-point cushion at 6-4.
• Another 3-1 spurt pushed the Norse ahead 9-6.
• Following two-straight scores from UIC, NKU ran off three-straight to force a UIC timeout with four-point Norse cushion at 12-8.
• NKU continued to use strong attacking throughout the remainder of the set and picked up a 25-19 win.
• Northern Kentucky terminated 19 kills behind a .395 hitting percentage. UIC had 12 kills and five errors for a .179 attacking clip.
• Briggs was a perfect 6-for-6 in her attacks.
• Kanakry added five kills in seven attempts and Gentile contributed four.
• Wucherer and Yopko had the Norse offense humming, dishing out nine and eight assists, respectively.
• Terrill had seven scoops.

 
SECOND SET SUMMARY   

• UIC ran out to a quick 4-1 lead, but NKU responded to tie the score at seven.
• After a back-and-forth affair for the next 12 points, Northern Kentucky reeled off consecutive points heading into the media timeout to lead, 15-13.
• The Norse extended to four quickly and withstood a small run by the Flames to cut the margin to two on two different occasions.
• Northern Kentucky claimed a 25-20 decision in the set, however, after reeling off a 4-1 run to close it out.
• Kanakry had another five kills, while Briggs added four more.
• The Norse ended the frame with a 14-11 advantage in kills while committing half as many errors, 3-6, as the Flames.

 
THIRD SET SUMMARY 

• Runs dominated the opening of the set, especially coming from the Flames. Four-straight by UIC. Four-straight by NKU. Four-straight by UIC. Two-straight by NKU. Five-straight by UIC. By the time those spurts ended, the Norse trailed, 13-6.
• Northern Kentucky rallied, winning seven of the next 10 points, forcing UIC to call its first timeout with a 16-13 lead.
• UIC countered with a 7-3 spurt of its own and eventually closed out the set, 25-17.
• NKU hit just .086 in the stanza with 11 kills and eight errors. On the flipside, UIC converted at a .364 clip, terminating 14 kills to just two miscues.

 
FOURTH SET SUMMARY 

• Kanakry scored Northern Kentucky's first three points of the frame to help the Norse race out to a 7-3 advantage and force UIC to call timeout. NKU then scored the next two points to pull ahead 9-3.
• The Norse further grabbed momentum in a point that featured a one-handed dig from Gentile that culminated in her and Siefke teaming for a block. NKU then won the next point to pull in front, 12-5, resulting in UIC's second and final timeout.
• NKU extended its lead to as many as 10 points at 18-8.
• The Flames answered in a big way, reeling off a 7-0 run in which the Norse used both of their timeouts.
• UIC then completed the full comeback, taking the set, 25-23. In total, the flames used a 17-5 run to close it out.
• NKU hit .229 with 14 kills and only three errors. UIC converted 15 kills with six errors for a .188 hitting percentage.
• However, the Flames had five aces compared to just one for the Norse.

 
FIFTH SET SUMMARY

• Tied at one to open the fifth, the Flames used a 4-1 spurt to take control of the set.
• UIC pushed ahead 10-4, but NKU battled back to 12-9.
• However, the final three points went to the Flames as they claimed a 15-9 decision.
• NKU had just six kills compared to 11 for UIC, as the Flames committed just one error and hit .667.

 
MATCH NOTES   

• Hitting was nearly identical between the two teams, as NKU led 64-63 in total kills but UIC had one less attack error, 21-20.
• While the Norse finished with a 9.0-4.0 lead in blocks, the Flames picked up one more ace, 8-7, and had just four service errors to NKU's 12.
• Northern Kentucky's 19 kills in the first set are the second most recorded during a frame this season. NKU had 20 terminations in the third stanza of its five-setter against Cleveland State on Feb. 9.
• Kanakry's 20 kills and .486 attack percent are both new career-highs.
• Briggs nearly matched her career high, falling one kill short of the 18 she posted against Green Bay on Nov. 1, 2019.
• Terrill's 21 digs on the day pushed her to 1,857 for her career.