NKU volleyball sweeps past Milwaukee to capture Horizon League title, earns automatic NCAA bid

NKyTribune staff

FAIRBORN, Ohio — After dropping a four-set decision at home to Green Bay on Nov. 1, Northern Kentucky owned an 11-12 overall record and stood at 4-7 in Horizon League play.

Today, eight consecutive victories later, NKU is the Horizon League champion and headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time as a Division I program.

Anna Brinkmann and Abby Kanakry combined for 20 kills and six blocks as NKU captured its first-ever Horizon League Tournament title by sweeping past Milwaukee, 25-17, 25-20, 25-13. The fourth-seeded Norse (19-12) hit a blistering .379 in the final set to cap the victory and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Milwaukee, the No. 2 seed, dropped to 26-6 overall. The Panthers were dominated at the net and hit just .035, with NKU owning a 12-5 advantage in blocks.

Brinkmann finished with 11 kills and attacked at a .400 clip in Sunday’s championship match. She also added 10 digs and two blocks. Kanakry slammed down nine kills in 18 swings with no errors for a .500 hitting percentage. The 6-foot-1 freshman also added four blocks.

NKU setters Shelby Olsen and Miranda Wucherer each dished out 19 assists as the Norse hit .264 as a team. Reilly Briggs and Laura Crawford each notched seven kills, with Crawford adding 15 digs and four blocks.

Crawford was named the tournament MVP after averaging 3.00 kills, 3.50 digs, 0.80 blocks and 0.50 aces per set during NKU’s three victories. Olsen and Kanakry were also named to the all-tournament team.

NKU captured the Horizon League title nearly 20 years to the day of the Norse’s 1999 NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region championship. The 1999 NKU team advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four and finished with a 33-2 record.

During Saturday’s semifinals, NKU defeated top-seeded Wright State in four sets.

The NCAA will announce the pairings for the 64-team field on Dec. 1. The first two rounds of competition will be held at 16 non-predetermined campus sites. At each campus site, four teams will compete in single-elimination first-round competition.

The two advancing teams then compete against each other in single-elimination second round competition at the same campus site. The winning team from each of the 16 second rounds advances to the regional round.

(Information compiled from NKU Athletics Communications, the Horizon League and staff reports)