Northern Kentucky volleyball’s season came to an end in the first round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship as the Norse fell to Miami (Ohio) in three sets, 25-14, 25-18, 25-22. The Norse end the 2018 campaign with a 21-10 mark.
First Set Summary
· Miami got out to a quick lead and used a Norse error and three-straight kills to extend out to a 18-8 advantage. The frame ended on three-straight miscues from NKU.
· The Norse struggled to terminate, with just six kills in the frame. Haley Libs and Natalie Hardig each contributed two kills, while Laura Crawford and Miranda Wucherer added one apiece.
· Ashton Terrill led NKU’s defense with six digs, while Wucherer added four.
Second Set Summary
· NKU’s offense livened up in the second set with 11 kills, but six unforced attacking errors and four service miscues allowed Miami to take the set.
· NKU made two key runs to close in on the RedHawks, with Hardig contributing three of her four kills in the set in those spans.
· Crawford also added four kills and four digs. Terrill led all players in the set with seven digs.
Third Set Summary
· The Norse did not give up in the final set, keeping pace with the RedHawks until the 9-9 mark before Miami extended out to an 18-13 lead. However, the Norse used a 4-0 run to close in on Miami and tied the contest up at 20-20 and 22-22, but two blocks from the RedHawks and a kill capped off the evening.
· Libs led the way with four kills and five digs, while Crawford added three kills and no errors on seven swings to go with four digs.
· Terrill had another strong defensive set with nine digs.
Norse Notes
· Terrill finished with a match-high 22 digs, with her 16th dig serving as her 1,000thcareer dig. She becomes the 21st Norse in program history to amass 1,000 digs in a career and she surpassed Molly Donovan (1995-98) and Jessica Buroker (1997-2000) to sit at 19th all-time.
· Crawford and Hardig led the offense with eight kills apiece. Crawford also contributed eight digs and a block on the defensive end, while Hardig hit an efficient .368 with just one error.
· Libs added seven kills and nine digs to close out her career. She closes out an illustrious NKU career with 1,580 kills and 1,311 digs, ranking seventh all-time in both categories.
· Wucherer recorded her 16th double-double of the season with 12 assists and 11 digs. She recorded a double-double in six of her last seven matches.
· Olsen dished out 10 assists and added eight digs. She sits at 10th all-time in assists, with 2,159 career assists.
#TakeNotice
Chloe Smith
Assistant Athletic Communications Director
Northern Kentucky University
