The Wright State volleyball team fell 3-2 at Northern Kentucky (25-23, 25-18, 21-25, 19-25, 13-15) to end their first weekend of conference play.

First Set Highlights

Wright State took an early 2-0 lead with a service ace from sophomore Hannah Colvin and a kill from freshman Celia Powers.  Northern Kentucky kept the score close after Wright State's early lead and tied the game three separate times at 5-5, 8-8, and 9-9 before taking their first lead of the set at 10-9.  Both teams battled back-and-forth throughout the set.  The Raiders tied the game four separate times at 10-10, 11-11, 12-12, and 15-15 with crucial kills from three of the freshmen hitters.  Northern Kentucky took their first timeout of the match at 18-15 after the Raiders went on a 4-0 run.  Coming out of the timeout, Northern Kentucky was able to fight back by going on a 3-0 run and tying the score at 18-18.  Wright State responded immediately by going on a 3-0 run and taking the final lead of the game at 21-18.  Wright State was able to hang onto the lead for the remainder of the set and won the first set 25-23.  Senior middle blocker Megan Hopkins and freshman outside hitter Abby Barcus led the Raiders each with five kills.

Second Set Highlights

Northern Kentucky took an early 3-0 lead before Barcus was able to put a kill down and side out for Wright State.  The Raiders quickly took the lead for the remainder of the game after a 6-0 run which put them up 7-5.  The Raiders kept the pressure on Northern Kentucky by going on two 4-0 runs that allowed them to extend their lead to 15-7.  Wright State only allowed Northern Kentucky to get within four points for the remainder of the set.  The Raiders won the second set comfortably at 25-18.  Senior outside hitter Katie Klusman had a solid second set posting eight kills for a .500 hitting percentage.

Third Set Highlights

Wright State and Northern Kentucky battled back-and-forth throughout the beginning of the set tying the game multiple times.  The Raiders held the lead briefly at 8-7 before Northern Kentucky went on a 4-0 run taking the lead for the remainder of the set.  Wright State kept battling in the middle of the set bringing the score within one point multiple times, but were unable to tie the game and regain the lead.  Wright State got within one point at 22-21 after a 3-0 run, but Northern Kentucky answered right back with their own 3-0 run to win the set at 25-21.  Hopkins led the Raiders with three kills of Wright State's 10 kills in the set.

Fourth Set Highlights

Northern Kentucky took another early lead in the fourth set.  Wright State took its first timeout of the set at 8-3 to try to break Northern Kentucky's 3-0 run.  The timeout worked and Wright State came out of the break going on a 3-0 run and closed in on Northern Kentucky at 8-6.  Both teams battled back-and-forth trading points throughout the middle of the set pushing the score to 13-12 before Northern Kentucky went on another 3-0 run that extended their lead to 16-12.  Wright State took their second timeout to slow down Northern Kentucky, but the Norse kept a steady lead and won the set 25-18 forcing a fifth set.  Klusman led the Raiders with four kills while Hopkins posted three kills.

Fifth Set Highlights

Wright State came out ready to play and took the early lead at 2-0.  The Norse quickly responded and tied the game at 3-3 before they took the lead at 4-3 after a service error by Wright State's Klusman.  Both teams battled back-and-forth tying the game four separate times at 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, and 7-7 before Wright State was able to take a crucial lead at 10-8 after a 3-1 run.  Northern Kentucky fought back and put down two kills to tie the game at 10-10, but Wright State kept calm and sided out after an attack error from Northern Kentucky which put them up 11-10.  Northern Kentucky went on a 2-0 run putting them up 12-11 so Wright State called a timeout to try and shift the momentum back in their favor.  Coming out of the timeout the Raiders posted back-to-back kills to put them up 13-12, but the Norse ended the fifth and final frame on three-consecutive terminations.  Klusman led the Raiders in the match with 20 kills for a .240 hitting percentage.  Hopkins was close behind Klusman with 16 kills for a strong .424 hitting percentage.  The Raiders posted solid blocks throughout the match and ended up recording 20 blocks while the Norse posted 16 blocks.  Northern Kentucky moves to 18-12 in the all-time series against Wright State.  

Next Up

Wright State continues conference play on the road next weekend taking on Oakland on Friday, Sept. 29 at 6 p.m. and Cleveland State on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 4 p.m.