After falling in the Horizon League championship to the Green Bay Phoenix last November, the Norse looked to walk into Green Bay, Wisconsin over the weekend to not only get two huge conference wins, but to also get their payback for losing a heartbreaker nearly a year ago to the day.

Nov. 1

The first set of this first match saw both teams going punch for punch, as neither team held a lead of more than two. Joy Banks, who finished with a match-leading 13 kills, was able to get four of her kills in this first set with two of them coming off assists from Lainey Green, who finished with a team-high 21 assists.

With both teams tied at 13 later in the match, NKU went on a 4-1 run highlighted with three Green Bay attack errors, allowing the Norse to retake the lead 17-14. However, right after that, the Phoenix would put together their own 4-0 run, highlighted by two attack errors by the Norse to give Green Bay the lead 18-17.

Both teams exchanged service errors, and the Norse benefitted by an attack error made by the Phoenix, which tied this set at 19. Green Bay put together a 4-0 run shortly after, led by kills from Olivia Neumann and Danilynn Schell to retake the lead 23-19. Despite the Norse scoring three more times, Green Bay would end this match with another kill by Neumann and a bad set by Lainey Green, giving the first set to the Phoenix 25-22. The final 12 points saw seven of them be scored by an attack error, a service error or a bad set.

The second set saw much of the same patterns of the first, but flipped on its head. After a brief back and forth at the beginning of the set that allowed the Norse to lead 5-2 after two kills from Allison Risley, the Phoenix went on a 6-0 run highlighted by two kills from Emma Best and a service ace from Schell, giving them an 8-5 lead.

NKU immediately responded with a 6-0 run of their own that saw Ivey Stocks earn two kills and the other four points scored came from Phoenix attack errors. However, Green Bay gave another swing at the Norse and connected, as they went on a 5-0 run that had more errors from the the team including two consecutive from Banks, as Green Bay would retake the lead 13-11 after a chaotic couple of runs.

Both teams went back and forth after that, as Sydney Bray’s emergence continued with four of her five kills in the set coming in this back and forth exchange. While NKU never allowed the Phoenix to get too far out of reach, the final run Green Bay went on proved to be too much. Green Bay, already leading 20-18, went on a 3-0 run that ultimately became too much for the Norse, and gave the Phoenix the 25-20 set win. 

The third set of this match saw a race to the finish line, as both teams continued to fight hard in a back and forth battle. Neither team went on a run longer than 3-0. Banks kicked off the firepower of this set, as she had four kills within the Norse’s first 10 points, as NKU led 10-7.

NKU led by at least three for a while longer, however a 7-3 run that featured multiple Norse errors by Banks and Siefke allowed them to tie it up at 15. After a brief back and forth, Bray would show more dominance, with three kills to give NKU a 19-17 lead. That would be the last celebration for them, as an 8-3 run by Green Bay that saw three kills from Cora Behnke would end this hard fought match, as the Norse would be downed in three straight sets.

Nov. 2

The first set of this match was opened up with a 7-3 Norse run, headlined by four attack errors and two kills from Risley. Another Bray kill, giving them an 8-3 lead, would be the last score the Norse would have in the run. Green Bay would comeback with a run of their own, as they rattled off six straight scores that featured two service aces giving them a 9-8 lead.

The next 11 points scored between the two teams saw six of them come from errors, which was the theme between these two teams in these two matches. The Norse would ultimately hold a 16-12 lead. After a brief back and forth between the two teams that saw the differential only dwindle down to three, Green Bay went on a 9-1 run that featured three more kills by Behnke and a service ace by Abby Gardner to give the Phoenix the first set 25-20.

The second set started with a back and forth that had the Phoenix lead it at 4-3, however, a 7-0 run by the Norse headlined by two Ava Hoying kills gave them a 10-4 lead. Immediately after, Green Bay went on a 7-1 run of their own that featured two Best service aces tied this set at 11. After that, the Norse allowed their counterpart to tie it once more with a 3-0 run, before ending the set with a 7-4 run that saw Banks tag on three more kills to her astounding two match total. The Norse would tie the match at 1-1 with a 25-22 second set win.

The third set saw much more hard fought Horizon League play. After starting the set once again with more punch for punch play, the Norse took off on a 4-0 run highlighted by a Torie Houston service ace, giving the Norse an early 7-5 lead. 

Katie Schulz would go on her own 3-2 run for Green Bay, as she recorded three kills to dig into the deficit and cut it to a 9-8 set score. Shortly after, Bray and Behnke would go head-to-head for their respective teams, but as the dust settled, NKU held the lead 15-14. Bray’s last kill was the beginning of a short 3-0 run for the Norse, which saw them leading 17-14 at the end of it, but that would mark the last notable run before the end of the match. 

A 4-0 run at the end of the match was what broke the bank, as Banks was the maestro of it all. A kill and two service aces was the dagger in the set, 25-20 Norse.

The fourth set was started by an early run by each team. After a Behnke kill led off the set making it 1-0, the Norse rattled off four straight scores with a huge Siefke and Bray block being the headlining play of the run, giving the Norse a 4-1 lead. 

The Phoenix would respond with a 6-1 run of their own, which saw the dynamic duo of Behnke and Gentry make up four of the six total points scored during this run. Both teams strung together two brief runs before Green Bay put together an astonishing 8-2 run that had Best give her best on multiple attacks, as she had two kills and an ace in this run that extended their lead to 18-10. After that trounce, the Norse were unable to find the opening to pull things closer, as the Phoenix would take the set 25-16, setting up what would be an intense fifth set.

The final set of this entertaining match would see both teams exchange their first two points before either team began to pull away. A kill by Behnke and a service ace by Gentry would give Green Bay a 4-2 lead early. Moments later, another brief run of kills by Best and Schell extended a Phoenix lead to 7-4. 

Three kills by Banks and another by Risley would be enough to cut into the deficit, as they trailed 10-8, but a 3-0 run by the Norse was the factor that tied things up at 11. Another couple of errors was the headline of the run, but the celebration would be short-lived. 

A 4-1 run that saw a Schell kill and a Kendall Schara ace would be the daggers in this match, as the Phoenix would take the fifth set, 15-12, but most importantly, the match.

The Norse fall to 9-16 on the season, with a 5-9 conference record, and will be back at home Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. Viewers can tune in on ESPN+.