Previous week recap:

Tuesday, Oct. 29

• Women’s volleyball lost against Wright State 3-0. Wright State took the first set 25-19. NKU started out the second firing on all cylinders going up 7-3, but then the Raiders went on a 18-2 run killing the Norse’s hopes to win the second set. Wright State won easily 25-12. The third set was a battle, as NKU trailed 19-14 then cut the game to 19-18. The Raiders would pile points onto the Norse 25-21 winning the game. Joy Banks led NKU with 16 kills. Lucy Cluxton led with 17 digs, Allie Siefke with three blocks and Lainey Green with 13 assists. 

Wednesday, Oct. 30

• Women’s basketball won huge against Mount St. Joseph in an exhibition game 75-47. NKU was led by Abby Wolterman and Kalissa Lacy who both contributed 14 points. The Norse shot 86% from the free throw line and showed off their defense with 16 steals.
• Women’s soccer kept their winning streak alive against Wright State winning 1-0. Emilie Doersching scored her first goal of the season in the 81st minute to put the Norse ahead. Northern Kentucky and Wright State each registered 13 shots in the contest, with NKU holding a 7-6 advantage in shots on goal. Each goalkeeper made six saves, with Megan Gessner recording a shutout. Gessner has not allowed a goal in 216 minutes. This game moves them to 11-6-1 on the season and 8-1-1 in conference play.
• Women’s soccer All-League honor awards, Lydia Self was named Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year, All-League First Team, and a finalist for the Sportsmanship Award. Lilly Yordy was named All-League First Team as well, while Kaya Vogt made the All-League Second Team and Caitlin Evans was honored on the All-Freshman Team. 

Friday, Nov. 1

• Men’s soccer won against Purdue Fort Wayne 3-1. Following a scoreless first half, Caleb Mundell scored in the 52nd minute. Just five minutes later, a handball called in the box gave Purdue Fort Wayne a penalty kick which they converted, making the game 1-1. Nico Stoddart scored in the 64th minute, and 10 minutes later Jason Purks gave NKU a two-goal lead that the Norse held onto for the win. Morgan Lopes came on for Nic Lemen in the 19th minute, making one save and only conceding a goal. NKU led in total shots 12-10 and in shots on goal 5-2.
• Women’s volleyball lost to Green Bay 3-0. The Norse fought hard in every set but just couldn’t get it done in the end. In set one, neither team held a lead larger than three. NKU held a 17-14 lead, but the Phoenix went on a run 4-0 and didn’t look back, winning the set 25-22. NKU jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in set two, but Green Bay drew even with a 5-0 run a few points later. The Norse went on another run going up 11-8, but then Green Bay climbed right back. They kept trading points until NKU was only down by one 14-15, then Green Bay would go on to win 25-20. Set three saw another contested game from both sides, with the game tied 20-20. NKU then fell short at the end, and the Phoenix pulled away late to secure a victory, winning 25-22. Sydney Bray posted a line of 12-4-24 while adding four digs. Joy Banks finished with 13 kills leading the way for Northern Kentucky. Lucy Cluxton’s 20 digs led both teams in the match. Lainey Green finished with 27 assists.

Saturday, Nov. 2

• Men’s and women’s swimming competed in their second ever meet at Xavier. Frank Runge finished top three in each individual race. Men’s 200 Yard Medley Relay: Northern Kentucky A – 5th (Brian Ridner, Tyler Cukovecki, Ethan Johnson, Conner Norton) Northern Kentucky B – 6th (Ben Jorgensen, Jeffrey Wenker, Khizar Shah, Dimiter Zafirov) Men’s 1000 Yard Freestyle: Frank Runge – 2nd (10:00.43) – 17 Points Jack Miranda – 4th (10:41.40) – 15 Points Men’s 200 Yard Freestyle: Patrick Gibbons – 3rd (1:46.65) – 16 Points Dimiter Zafirov – 6th (1:50.61) – 13 Points Men’s 100 Yard Backstroke: Jeffrey Wenker – 4th (58.60) – 15 Points Brian Ridner – 6th (59.53) – 13 Points Men’s 100 Yard Breaststroke: Tyler Cukovecki – 4th (1:02.36) – 15 Points Men’s 200 Yard Butterfly: Ethan Johnson – 2nd (2:01.37) – 17 Points Jack Miranda – 3rd (2:08.54) – 16 Points Men’s 50 Yard Freestyle: Conner Norton – 2nd (22.01) – 17 Points Khizar Shah – 6th (23.03) – 13 Points Ben Joregensen – 7th (23.19) – 12 Points Men’s 100 Yard Freestyle: Patrick Gibbons – 2nd (47.59) – 17 Points Conner Norton – 5th (49.47) – 14 Points Dimiter Zafirov – 6th (50.87) – 13 Points Jeffrey Wenker – 8th (52.49) – 11 Points Men’s 500 Yard Freestyle: Frank Runge – 3rd (4:49.66) – 16 Points Jack Miranda – 4th (5:09.67) – 15 Points Men’s 100 Yard Butterfly: Ethan Johnson – 3rd (54.52) – 16 Points Tyler Cukovecki – 4th (54.90) – 15 Points Khizar Shah – 5th (55.31) – 14 Points Men’s 200 Yard Individual Medley: Brian Ridner – 5th (2:09.89) – 14 Points Men’s 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: Northern Kentucky A – 3rd (Conner Norton, Ben Jorgensen, Jeffrey Wenker, Patrick Gibbons) Northern Kentucky B – 4th (Khizar Shah, Frank Runge, Dimiter Zafirov, Ethan Johnson). Women’s 50 Yard Freestyle: Chloe Loftis – 5th (29.67) – 14 Points Women’s 100 Yard Freestyle: Chloe Loftis – 5th (1:05.97) – 14 Points.
• Men’s and women’s cross country wrapped up their season in the Horizon League Cross Country Championships in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The men finished in fifth place, led by a pair of top-10 finishes, while the women finished in eighth. Natnael Weldemichael captured second place in the meet, finishing at 24:20.5, four seconds ahead of the third-place finisher. Colton O’Hara followed Weldemichael with a tenth-place finish, running a 24:41.7. Stetson Childress grabbed a finish in 30th, running a time of 25:54.7. Rounding out the top five were Samsun Weldemichael (56th, 26:27.3) and Nathan Ruth (26:33.3). Also finishing on the men’s side were Summit Northrup (80th, 26:54.8) Jacob Messer (81st, 26:55.6) and Owen Matthews (84th, 27:05.4). As a group, the men placed fifth overall out of ten teams with 150 points over the 8K course. Youngstown State took home the title on the men’s side with five runners inside the top eight. On the women’s side, Brittany Arnold, who earned #HLXC Freshman of the Week honors in September, led the way for the Norse with a 32nd-place finish. Arnold ran a 23:21.7 in the 6000-meter race. 15 seconds later, Julia Verhoff crossed the line, finishing in 43rd at 23:36.9. To round out the top five, Carlie Condit (50th, 23:47.0), Lauren Mang (55th, 23:53.3) and Macie Radcliffe (56th, 23:54.7) all recorded solid times to secure an eighth-place finish for the Norse. Also finishing were Allie Atchley (62nd, 23:57.6), Grace Biddle (74th, 24:09.2) and Kaitlyn Strange (24:19.8). Northern Kentucky finished with 227 total points. Robert Morris took home the trophy for the women with 67 points.
• Women’s volleyball battled in five sets but lost to Green Bay 3-2. The Norse started strong in set one but Green Bay quickly battled back. Both sides went back and forth until Northern Kentucky took a 19-16 lead, but Green Bay went on an 8-0 run and took the set 25-20. In set two they traded runs, going back and forth early. Later in the set the Norse went on a 4-0 run. The game remained close but the Norse held strong to win 25-22 and the game 1-1. In the third set NKU carried that momentum from the second set, keeping the game even the whole way while trading points back and forth until 21-20. The Norse went on a 4-0 run to win the set 25-20 moving the game 2-1. In the fourth set NKU struggled and The Phoenix would then cruise their way to forcing set five winning 25-16 and tying the game 2-2. In the fifth, the Phoenix never trailed, winning in convincing fashion 15-12 and winning the game 3-2. A trio of NKU players finished with double-digit kills, as Sydney Bray led the way with 15 while hitting .364. Allison Risley and Joy Banks both recorded double-doubles, as Risley finished with 14 kills and 14 digs while Banks tallied 13 kills and 14 digs. The setter duo of Lainey Green and Torie Houston put up 24 and 19 assists, respectively. Defensively, the Norse recorded 9 total blocks and 81 digs. Allie Siefke led the team in blocks, with five. Lucy Cluxton recorded 25 digs, a match-high.

Sports this week:

Monday, Nov. 4

• Women’s basketball faces off against Middle Tennessee in their season and home opener at 6 p.m.
• Men’s basketball will open their season against Florida State in Tallahassee, Florida at 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 5

• Men’s soccer will take on Wright State at home at 2 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 7

• Women’s soccer will face off against number 22-ranked Kentucky in Lexington at 6 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 8

• Women’s volleyball goes up against Oakland at home at 6 p.m. 
• Men’s basketball will take on number 14-ranked Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana at 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 9

• Women’s triathlon will compete in the NCAA National Championships in Clermont, Florida.
• Women’s volleyball goes up against Oakland at home at 2 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 11

• Women’s volleyball will take on Marshall in Huntington, WV at 1 p.m.