HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky made short work of its match against Youngstown State, taking down the Penguins in three sets (25-13, 25-11, 25-22) to provide the Norse with their seventh win in a row. NKU is now 12-6 on the season and 8-1 in Horizon League play. YSU dips to 4-17 overall and 1-9 versus league opposition.

STATS LEADERS

• Anna Brinkmann paced a balanced Norse attack that saw eight players register a kill, including six with at least three terminations. Brinkmann put away 12 attacks on the strength of a .400 attacking percentage.
• Without registering an error, Abby Kanakry terminated nine kills. The redshirt junior also had a team-high four blocks.
• Reilly Briggs, Joy Banks and Natalie Hardig added eight, seven and five kills, respectively.
• With three terminations, Miranda Wucherer was the sixth Norse with multiple kills. She added 15 assists, six digs and three block assists.
• Katy Yopko handed out 17 assists for the Norse and joined Anna Burke with a team-best eight digs.

 
FIRST SET SUMMARY   

• Northern Kentucky ran out to a 14-2 lead and went on to a 25-13 win.
• Banks led the way with six of NKU's 17 terminations.
• Meanwhile, the Norse defense limited the Penguins to eight kills on the strength of four blocks.

 
SECOND SET SUMMARY   

• A 10-4 spurt to open the frame provided all the momentum the Norse needed as they ran away to a 25-11 decision.
• NKU hit .462 with 13 kills, while keeping YSU's attack at bay with just seven terminations behind a .115 attacking clip.
• Briggs and Kanakry had four kills apiece.

 
THIRD SET SUMMARY 

• Set No. 3 was a little tighter in the opening moments as Youngstown State was able to take its only two leads of the entire match at 1-0 and the 2-1.
• Hardig then tallied back-to-back points on a kill and service ace and Northern Kentucky never relinquished the lead again, putting away the set 25-22.
• Brinkmann took over for the Norse, terminating six kills and helping the team hit .400 in the frame thanks to .455 hitting of her own.
• Wucherer was also solid with three kills in four attempts.
• Both teams had 16 kills, but the Norse had two fewer errors and one more ace, which proved to be the difference.

 
MATCH NOTES   

• With the win, Northern Kentucky improves to 13-0 all-time against Youngstown State.
• The seven-straight wins by NKU are the most since by the team since winning eight in a row between Oct. 27-Nov.17, 2018.
• The Norse posted a .376 attacking percent today, marking fifth time in the last seven matches where they have hit above .350. NKU is now terminating at a .233 rate on the season.

 
NEXT UP 
Northern Kentucky returns to Regents Hall for a Friday night showdown against Wright State. First serve for the Oct. 22 meeting is set for 6 p.m.