Friday’s tough loss against Missouri
NKU women’s volleyball played its home opener on Friday, Sept. 6 while opening a huge weekend of tournament volleyball for the Norse.
The first game of the weekend for the Norse was against the Missouri Tigers in front of a raucous crowd at Regents Hall. The Tigers put up an impressive first set with 17 kills, winning 25-21. The Norse were fighting hard the first set, posting 11 kills and a pair of blocks. They finished the set with a .206 hitting percentage.
The Norse took the second set, tying the game 1-1. The set was back and forth between the two teams with no one taking a huge leap in points. The Norse took advantage of the Tigers’ eight service errors, and Ivey Stocks’ ace proved to be set point at 34-32.
The third set Missouri bounced back, winning 25-21.The Tigers jumped out to a 7-4 lead, and extended the score to 16-9 after a 4-0 run. The Norse fought hard, pulling the game within three (20-17) after a 4-0 rally and came as close as two (23-21). The Tigers wrapped up the set getting back to back kills leading into the fourth set.
The Norse jumped out to an early lead on the Tigers leading 12-7. The Tigers cut into their lead quickly tying the set 14-14. The Tigers then utilized a 6-1 rally to switch the lead in favor of the Tigers, 20-17. Missouri extended its advantage to 23-18 before the Norse clawed within two (23-21). The Tigers secured the win with a block taking down the Norse 3-1.
Joy Banks starred for the Norse, posting a second straight double-double with 17 kills and 14 digs, adding a block, as well as posting a .341 hitting percentage in the loss. Lucy Cluxton notched a team-high of 19 digs, and freshman Allison Risley put together another impressive performance with 10 kills and seven digs.
Saturday’s dominating win against South Dakota
The Norse’s second game of the weekend came against the South Dakota Coyotes Saturday, Sept. 7. This game was a huge bounce back for the Norse, winning all three straight sets and beating South Dakota 3-0.
The first set was dominated by the Norse, after some back and forth play and a little lead, the Norse were up 11-8. Then the Norse went on a crazy 10-0 run to take the lead 21-8. South Dakota put some more points up, but the Norse took the first set comfortably winning 25-11.
The second set was a lot of back and forth with no team truly taking a huge lead. The biggest lead was three points with the Norse leading 22-19. The game went into extra points, but the Norse pushed South Dakota to the edge. The Norse took the second set 27-25. Northern Kentucky had five blocks during the set, including the winning block solo from Allie Siefke.
The Norse went on a 5-0 run at the start of the third set and didn’t look back. The Norse won the set comfortably winning 25-14, also winning the game 3-0.
Joy Banks tallied another dominant performance, totaling 15 kills and seven digs in the win. Banks was highly efficient for NKU, hitting .452. Allie Siefke was dominant at the net, posting seven total blocks with four solo blocks, also adding four kills. Lucy Cluxton was huge defensively for the Norse, finishing with a match-high of 17 digs. Torie Houston finished with 22 assists.
Last game of the weekend, losing to number four-ranked Louisville Cardinals
The Norse closed out the Invitational weekend against their toughest opponent in the season so far, number four-ranked Louisville Cardinals.
The first set Louisville had a slender lead at 11-7. The Cardinals went on a 10-2 run to go up 21-9. The Norse scored two consecutive points to get to 11, but the Cards ran off the final four points, putting the set away at 25-11.
In the second set, the Cardinals pulled out to another 12-7 lead early in the set and then went on a 10-0 run to go up 22-7. The Cardinals won the set on a kill from the right side winning 25-8, to go up 2-0 on the Norse.
After the break, Louisville seemingly pulled away from the Norse, building a six-point lead at 16-10. But the Norse fought hard and went on a four-point run, powered by the serving of Joy Banks, who brought the Norse within two, 16-14.
Four straight points served by Lucy Cluxton saw the Cardinals’ margin shrink to one point at 20-19. The teams started trading points and an attack error by the Norse gave UofL its first set/match point. It took four chances with the Norse fighting hard, but they ultimately fell losing 26-24, with the Cardinals winning 3-0. The Louisville Cardinals won the invitational only losing one set the whole weekend.
Lucy Cluxton finished with double-digit digs once again with 15, which led all players in the match. Joy Banks impressed with six kills and seven digs. Torie Houston led the Norse with 13 assists. NKU finished with six total blocks, led by Ivey Stocks’ three.
The Norse came out of the Invitational with one win and a huge weekend from Joy Banks. Women’s volleyball heads up to Toledo to play in the Rocket Invitational beginning on Friday, Sept. 13, where the Norse is set to take on Marshall.