NKU women’s volleyball swept Milwaukee over the weekend to open up Horizon League play.
The Norse were picked to finish second in the preseason Horizon League coaches’ poll this season and now stand 7-6 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
Game one
NKU trailed most of the first set, down 20-17. Senior Ava Hoying started her night strong with back-to-back kills to send the Norse on a 6-0 run to take the lead and claim the 25-22 victory. Hoying ended the night with 14.5 points, nine kills, three aces, three digs and a season-high four blocks.
In the second set, the Norse delivered an all-around performance, recording four service aces and holding Milwaukee to a negative.027 hitting percentage to win the set 25-15.
NKU fell in the third set after a rough offensive performance, hitting just 0.061 compared to the Panthers 0.384. But the Norse flipped it around in the fourth set. Leading throughout, with a strong hitting percentage of 0.464taking the 25-17 win to gain their first conference win of the season.
Ivey Stocks helped lead the Norse, recording a season-high 15 kills and five blocks. Abby Pickard added 46 assists and Daisy Cluxton led with 16 digs.
Game two
Both teams traded points throughout the first set, but the Norse held the offensive edge, hitting an impressive .378 to Milwaukee’s .200. Tied at 23, Stocks delivered a kill to put the Norse up one, and an attack error by Milwaukee sealed the 25-23 win for NKU. Stocks finished the match with eight kills and five blocks.
The Norse dominated early in the second set, climbing to a 23-12 lead until Milwaukee found a late spark, scoring six straight points to make it a five-point deficit. Hoyings answered with a kill and service ace to give the Norse the 25-18 win.
Hoyings ended the day with 14 points, 10 kills, two aces and four blocks.
The third set remained competitive with NKU hitting .220 and Milwaukee hitting .205. Tied at 16, two kills from Katie Noschang and two service aces by Allison Risley gave the Norse the lead they held until the end to complete the 3-0 sweep over Milwaukee.
Noschang finished the match with four kills, four blocks, three digs and an ace. Risley contributed four aces and four digs.
