TOLEDO, Ohio — Northern Kentucky volleyball played a pair of matches at the Rocket Invitational on Friday, taking on the Marshall Thundering Herd in the morning before a match against host Toledo to finish off the first day of the tournament. 

The Norse fell in five sets to Marshall in the first match of the day before a four set loss to host Toledo in the night cap. 

MATCH ONE - MARSHALL

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky - 2, Marshall - 3 

LOCATION: Savage Arena (Toledo, Ohio)

RECORDS: Northern Kentucky: 2-5 (0-0 Horizon), Marshall: 6-1 (0-0 SBC)

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Joy Banks posted another monster double-double for the Norse, her third of the season. Banks finished with 17 kills, tying her season-high, and 16 digs. Both those totals led the team.
• Sydney Bray played a big role for Northern Kentucky with 12 kills and six digs, both season-highs. Bray finished the match with a hitting percentage of .346.
• Ava Hoying's 12 kills marked a new season-high. 
• Freshman Lainey Green paced NKU in assists with 30, while Torie Houston had 18 dimes of her own. 
• With her 15 digs, Lucy Clinton has posted 10+ digs in six straight matches. 
• Allison Risley tied for the team lead with a career best 16 digs. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Marshall raced to a first set win behind a pair of 4-0 scoring runs to go up 1-0. 
• Northern Kentucky bounced back in the second set with a 26-24 win, led by four kills from Sydney Bray and three from Joy Banks. 
• NKU pushed Marshall to the brink with a dominant 25-15 win in set three as Joy Banks posted six kills. NKU hit .312 as a team in the third set. 
• Marshall took the final two sets, and downed the Norse 16-14 in set five. 

MATCH TWO - TOLEDO

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky - 1, Toledo - 3

LOCATION: Savage Arena (Toledo, Ohio)

RECORDS: Northern Kentucky: 2-6 (0-0 Horizon), Toledo: 5-3 (0-0 MAC)

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Allison Risley starred for the Norse, finishing with a season-high 20 kills, the highest single match total of any NKU student-athlete this season. 
• Joy Banks finished the match with 8 kills and 14 digs. 
• Three Norse posted 10+ digs, led by Lucy Cluxton's season high 23. 
• Torie Houston and Lainey Green combined for 33 assists in the loss. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Northern Kentucky picked up a victory in the first set, rallying from a 24-23 deficit with a 3-0 run to win the set. 
• Toledo bounced back with three straight set wins to take the match. 

UP NEXT

• Northern Kentucky finishes up the Rocket Invitational on Saturday morning vs. Eastern Washington. First serve is scheduled for 10 AM ET. 

FOLLOW NORSE VOLLEYBALL
Get in the game and follow Northern Kentucky's NCAA Division I women's volleyball team through @NKUNorseVB on X, @NKUNorseVBall on Instagram, nkunorsevball on Facebook and subscribe to the NKU Norse Youtube channel.