NKU women’s volleyball celebrated senior day on Saturday at Regents Hall. Seniors Torie Houston, Allie Siefke and Joy Banks were recognized for their historic careers at NKU. 

The accolades for the seniors piled up as Siefke became NKU’s all-time leader in block assists earlier this season. Banks was celebrated for her 1,000 career kills and Houston for her 1,000 career assists.

This game against IU Indy would determine who would get the sixth and final spot in the Horizon League tournament. Due to the tiebreaker between the teams and Friday’s 3-0 result in the Jaguars’ favor, the Norse would need to win Saturday’s match in three sets to win the tiebreaker and secure their chance at competing for a Horizon League title.

A huge block by Allison Risley opened up the scoring from NKU, as two additional service aces from Lucy Cluxton and Lainey Green allowed NKU to go on a huge 6-2 run to open the first set. 

Two kills from Morgan Ostrowski allowed IU Indy to try and claw their way back into the set, but two kills from Risley kept the Norse out in front 10-6. 

After a service error and a kill from Maia Long helped the Jaguars keep up with the Norse, another 6-2 run from the Norse was highlighted by two Siefke kills that pushed the NKU lead to 18-10. IU Indy would go on their own 9-4 run that saw two Norse attack errors and two service errors, allowing the Jaguars to cut the lead to three at 22-19. 

NKU took care of business after that though, as they closed the door with a brief 3-1 run and an emphatic kill from Banks to win the set 25-20.

The Jaguars would answer back after the first set loss, going up 3-0 early in the set. That lead would grow to 6-2 for the Jaguars thanks to Elle Patterson, who racked up five kills in the match to that point. The momentum would continue in the favor of IU Indy as their offense put together an impressive .500 hitting percentage to start the set and go up 9-4. The Norse would fight back and cut the deficit to three off the defense of Cluxton, who piled up five digs in the match. 

IU Indy would ultimately hold off NKU in the set, winning 25-19 and tying the match 1-1, unfortunately ending the tournament hopes of the Norse. There was still lots to compete for, as the seniors were determined to win the last game of their collegiate careers.

The third set saw back and forth action between the teams, as neither had a differential greater than two until very late in the set.

Patterson opened up the third set with three of the 17 team kills, hoisting IU Indy to a quick 5-3 lead. Banks and Bray would combine for three points in a brief Norse run, as Banks had an ace to cap off a 4-0 run that also saw Bray get back to back kills to regain the lead 7-5.

NKU would maintain their small lead until a Houston service error and a Risley attack error would give the Jaguars their lead back 10-9. 

The teams would trade punches on the scoreboard, as they tied three more times in the next few points before a 5-0 headlined by two Briana Brown kills, which ultimately gave IU Indy a 17-12 lead.

The Norse would bring back the heat, as two kills from Risley would aid in tying this set back up at 18. The teams went back and forth once more, tying at 20 until a 5-1 run that saw two more attack errors by the Norse. This would end this set at 25-21 and boost the Jaguars to their 2-1 match lead.

IU Indy would keep up the momentum of set three and would enjoy leads of 5-3 and 10-7 early on in set number four. NKU would find a response in Ivey Stocks, who had a kill to tie the set back up at 10 and give the Norse life once again. Siefke would have her impact felt in set four as she helped the team to a 21-18 set lead behind four digs and three block assists. 

The Norse would tie up this match once more, as the set would be capped off by a kill from Risley to win the set 25-21.

The race to 15 points in the deciding fifth set would start out all Jaguars. They found themselves with a 11-7 lead as Long neared a double-double for the Jaguars with 12 kills and nine digs on the day. The Jaguars held off any Norse comeback and ended NKU’s season in a 15-12 defeat.

NKU and their seniors battled hard with impressive performances. Houston had an outstanding 25 assists for the match. Banks ended her season with a double-double, something that had become common for her this season. Siefke stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with four kills, four digs and three block assists to punctuate an incredible season for women’s volleyball.