Watching the Norse: Athletics recap and review

Jakob Staley, Assistant Sports Editor

October 1, 2024

Kaya Vogt (left) and Kylie Anderson (right) celebrate after women’s soccer 4-0 victory over Cleveland State.

Previous week recap:

Thursday, Sept. 26

Women’s soccer got a huge win against Cleveland State winning 4-0. Kaya Vogt got the scoring started in the 15th minute. The Norse struck again in the 36th minute. NKU took advantage of a turnover and went on a full-field run. Natalie Newman and Megan Molner pushed the ball up the field and Erykah Cornett finished it off with a goal going into half. Both Sofia Wilmes and Riley Evans scored late in the game to close the game out. The Norse’s defense was huge, only allowing one shot on goal and Tristen Cross and Grace Kostohryz combined for the clean sheet.

Friday, Sept. 27

Women’s volleyball lost to Cleveland State 3-2. NKU battled with Cleveland going to five sets. Cleveland State picked up the win in set one, 25-21. The Norse fought back and won both the second set (25-22) and third set (25-19). They then fell to the Vikings in the final two sets losing 25-19 in the fourth set and 15-12 in the fifth set. Joy Banks posted another double-double, her fifth in a row. Banks finished with a season-high 24 kills. Lucy Cluxton led the Norse with 24 digs, tying her season high. Cluxton has posted 10 plus digs in 11 straight matches. Allison Risley finished with a double-double of her own, posting 12 kills and 12 digs. Sydney Bray finished second on the team in kills with 14. Both Bray and Banks hit .350. Lainey Green and Torie Houston combined for 56 assists.

Saturday, Sept. 28

Women’s volleyball bounced back to win against Cleveland State 3-1. Cleveland State picked up the win in set one, 25-19. The Norse bounced back in a huge way winning set two 25-16 and it didn’t stop there. NKU battled in the third set winning 25-22 and winning again in the fourth set closing out the game 25-23. Banks had another huge game, posting her sixth straight double double of the season. She finished with 16 kills and 13 digs. Cluxton led NKU with 22 digs, her second straight 20+ dig performance. Risley ranked third on the team in kills with 10. Stocks led the Norse in efficiency, notching 11 kills at a .400 hitting percentage. Stocks also led NKU in blocks with three. Green (25) and Houston (26) led NKU in assists, combining for 51.
Men’s soccer ends in a tie against Detroit Mercy 1-1. The Norse registered a season high 18 shots, with four being on goal. Detroit Mercy took the lead with the opening goal in the 52nd minute, but Simon Knuewe found the back of the net in the 60th minute to equalize the match. Nic Lemen made three second half saves. The result marked the fourth straight draw for the Norse, moving NKU’s unbeaten streak to six matches.

Sunday, Sept. 29

Men’s Triathlon finishes at the Mid-East Collegiate Triathlon Conference Championships (MECTC). They competed in its first conference championships in program history. The Olympic distance race consisted of a 1500m lake swim, 40km bike, and 10km run. Competing for the Norse was Will Griffith. Griffith had a strong swim coming out of the water with the first chase group with a swim time of 23:04. Completing the 40km bike leg which consisted of a few hills with a ton of wind allowed him to finish the bike in 1:27:28. The 10km run consisted of 2 very hilly run loops, completing it in 51:32. This allowed him to have an overall time of 2:44:29 and a 62nd place finish out of 200 athletes.

Sports this week:

Monday, Sept. 30

Women’s golf is at the Butler Fall Invitational in Indianapolis
Men’s golf is at Cleveland State’s for Tom Tontimonia Invitational in Cleveland, OH

Tuesday, Oct. 1

Women’s golf is at the Butler Fall Invitational in Indianapolis
Men’s golf is at Cleveland State’s for Tom Tontimonia Invitational in Cleveland, OH
Women’s volleyball takes on Wright State in Dayton, OH at 6 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 5

Saturday, Oct. 6

Women’s tennis at the fall Horizon invite
Men’s swimming will compete for the first time in school history at IU-Indy, taking on the host Jaguars and the Salukis of Southern Illinois.
Men’s cross country at Live in Lou XC Classic in Louisville, Kentucky 9 a.m.
Women’s cross country at Live in Lou XC Classic in Louisville, Kentucky 9 a.m.
Softball plays against Bellarmine in Louisville, Kentucky at 12 p.m.
Women’s soccer takes on Robert Morris in Moon Township, Pennsylvania at 1 p.m.
Women’s volleyball faces off against Youngstown State at home at 2 p.m.
Men’s soccer takes on Cleveland State at home at 7 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 7

The Northerner