Playing in their fifth volleyball Horizon League championship match in the last eight years, the Northern Kentucky Norse were swept by their rivals, the Wright State Raiders, 25-18, 25-16 and 25-19.
“Credit to Wright State. They played outstanding. They’re finally healthy. They’ve been battling a lot of injuries this year and I could tell when they were playing yesterday, they were feeling good and had a lot of energy,” NKU head coach Liz Hart said.
The Norse were hosting the tournament for the first time by virtue of winning their first regular season league title.
“We’re so grateful to the administration and the university support to be able to pull this off. To experience it two days in a row was something our players are never going to forget,” Hart said.
After some early back-and-forth action to open the match, Wright State broke away for a 14-10 lead before claiming the set, 25-18. The Raiders hit .256 compared to the Norse’s .114 hitting percentage. Wright State also served three aces and blocked four attacks. Taylor Bransfield and Katie Sowko each had four kills for the Raiders and Sowko had two block assists.
Wright State picked up the second set right where it left off in the first, taking a 6-1 lead and maintaining a steady five-point advantage until two Katie Sowko aces gave the Raiders a 25-16 set win. The Norse, normally sure-handed on their serve-receive, committed four errors in that department in the second set.
Northern Kentucky’s only lead of the third set came at 5-4 but they stayed within two points of Wright State until a Bransfield kill gave them a 21-17 lead. Sowko’s final kill completed the sweep and delivered Wright State its fourth title in the last six seasons.
Badin graduate Luci Heid led the Norse with 13 kills on a .370 hitting percentage. Abbi Pickard dished out 32 assists while senior Lucy Cluxton had 18 digs.
The sweep was by no mean indicative of how competitive the Horizon League was this year. Northern Kentucky played in five five-set matches, and even a number of sets, even in their wins, were only decided by two or three points. Hart took pride in her team’s ability to close out sets this year, but the Raiders never game them any chances on Sunday.
“No matter what the win-loss in terms of sets was, you can still see how competitive the Horizon League is and how talented our teams are. In any given night, anyone can win,” Hart said.
Mya Ayro led the Raiders with 14 kills while Sowko finished with 10. Taylor Bransfield took the lead on the defensive side of the net with seven blocks.
NKU finishes the season with a 22-9 record. The Norse graduate just three seniors in Cluxton, Jaya Parker and Raelynn Sanders.
“This has been one of my favorite seasons. This is my 16th season as head coach. You have a lot of different teams and different personalities, but this team has been incredible,” Hart said.
Xavier volleyball swept in Big East title match, still hopeful for NCAA tournament
The Musketeers had won 14 of their last 15 matches to advance to their second-ever Big East tournament championship but were swept by No. 12-ranked Creighton, 25-19, 25-20 and 25-20.
Xavier was led by 13 kills from Anna Taylor and 10 from Emma Grace. Macy Hatkevich had 28 assists and nine digs. The Musketeers served just two aces and had a .217 hitting percentage.
Now at 26-4 and tied for the second-most wins in the country, the Musketeers have a solid chance to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. They were receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll at the end of the regular season.
The selection show will air at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 30 on ESPN. Xavier has previously appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2007 and 2001.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: NKU volleyball swept by Wright State in Horizon League championship
Reporting by Brendan Connelly, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
