Northern Kentucky made a big run in the Horizon League volleyball tournament, and Bailey Western played a big role.
Western, a junior from Columbus East, helped the Norse make history in earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time by winning the Horizon League Tournament from Nov. 22-24.
Western’s berth in the NCAA tournament comes one year after her high school teammate, Cortney VanLiew, helped Florida Gulf Coast University reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
On Sunday, Western and her teammates got together had a big watch party to see when and where the team was off to next. That answer came in the form of Michigan in the opening round slated for a 5 p.m. start on Friday in Lexington, Kentucky.
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“It’s pretty awesome. We’re so excited to get there and make it this far,” Western said. “We all worked really hard this season, and last spring, we worked really hard in the offseason. It’s absolutely awesome to make it this far. We have a lot of fans excited for us and cheering for us. All of my family back home were excited, so we’re all excited for this great opportunity.”
Western said that her family will make the trip to see her play Friday.
After three long days of practice earlier in the week, the Norse (19-12) made the short trip to Lexington Wednesday night and will get some practice time in at the Memorial Coliseum today before their match Friday afternoon.
Should Northern Kentucky get the upset, it would likely face the ninth-seeded host, led by former state champion and All-State standout at Christian Academy of Indiana Alli Stumler.
The fourth-seeded Norse, had split the regular season matches to fifth-seed University of Illinois-Chicago, but won the rubber match 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament. Western finished with four kills, two blocks and an ace in the contest.
In the semifinals, Northern Kentucky played top-ranked and host Wright State University, who had beaten them twice earlier in the year. That wasn’t even in the mind of Western, who finished with seven kills and six blocks to pull off a massive four-set victory to earn a spot in the conference final.
In the final against second-ranked Milwaukee, the Norse won in straight sets, with Western accounting for four kills, four blocks and two aces.
“Going into the conference tournament, the vibe was totally different compared to last year,” Western said. “We had this determination going in there, and we were going to win. It’s a feeling I’ve never felt before, but we knew going in that we were going to win that conference tournament.”
Western, who spends most sets as a middle blocker, leads Northern Kentucky with 120 blocks. She also has 192 kills, 43 digs, 12 aces and two assists in 115 sets played.
As a freshman, Western was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team. Last year as a sophomore, she was All-Horizon League honorable mention.
“Bailey has done a pretty good job of her ability to go behind and always force a blocker to go with her, which either she is left one-on-one, or one of her teammates is left one-on-one. Her ability to go behind has really helped spread our offense out.” Northern Kentucky coach Liz Hart said. “We’ve been working a lot on transition, and in the conference tournament, she was able to hit a lot of balls quickly in transition, even when our setter was several feet behind the 10-foot line, which was huge and something that our opponents really haven’t seen before. I think her offensive production has made the opposing defenses pay attention to her and focus on her and make sure they’re prepared for her attack.”
During her high school career at East, Western was a sectional champion in all four years and made semistate appearances as a freshman and senior. She said her game has grown a lot making the transition from high school to college.
“The conditioning is very different. I had trouble my freshman year a little bit,” Western said. “I’ve gotten used to my teammates to help push me to where I am today. I wouldn’t be where I am without them. Our coaching staff, they’ve pushed me to where I am, as well. I’ve always worked really hard in the spring to get stronger, faster, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”The Western File” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Name: Bailey Western
Sport: Volleyball
Position: Middle Blocker
Class: Junior
High school: Columbus East (2017)
Academics: Majoring in organizational leadership, minoring in focus and communications
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