Late into the third set, the Norse are cruising, winning the set 24-21 and have made the game 2-0. They are looking for their first sweep in conference play.

Queen’s opposite side, Connor Dell, serves the ball, looking to make a push against the Norse. “Wack,” he hits the ball as it goes flying over the net and Libero Trace Klausing digs the ball up, bumping it to Nick Whitley, who sets it up for Adam Blair.

Blair gets into his stride and hits the ball with authority. With the ball flying at the speed of light, “boom,” the ball hits off the ground as the Norse win 25-21 and the game 3-0. The team rushes the court, celebrating.

This win moves the Norse to 5-14 overall and 2-10 in conference play, while Queens moves to 6-17 overall and 1-13 in conference play.

Once again, the star of the game for the Norse was Griffin Wheatley, who had multiple huge kills during the game. He had nine kills, three total blocks, and eight digs. Will McElveen had a big game as well, finishing the night with 13 kills on the night, hitting .310 with eight digs and a block. Blair showed out down the stretch, having multiple huge blocks in the third set and the game-winning point. He finished with nine kills on a .368 hitting percentage.

In the first set, it was a battle like the previous match with Queens. No team took the edge until late, when the Norse pulled away thanks to a kill and error by Queens. McElveen had a huge kill to put them up by two, 24-22. Then Casey Maas sent the serve long, flying out of bounds.

In the second set, Queens took a quick seven-point lead in the set, but the Norse overcame that, going on a run of their own. Nearing the end, the Norse kept the foot on the gas, cruising to the set win, 25-21.

In the final set of the game, the Norse executed at a high rate, keeping the Royals on their toes. The Norse led most of the set, coasting to the 25-21 victory and the 3-0  game win.

Head Coach Jim Palilonis loved how his team competed and the way they executed each play. He knows that this is his team’s identity.

Senior Matt Cosgrove getting ready for the ball to be served against Queens on March. 27. 2026. Cosgrove is the only senior on the Northern Kentucky volleyball squad. (NKU Athletics)

“I couldn’t be more proud of the effort they put out there. It is so hard to come back on back-to-back nights against the team like that, and play aggressive and play to your potential, and not relax a little bit,” Palilonis said. “So for them to come out, even put themselves in a position where they were behind, but then come back, just shows a ton of character. So really tremendous effort from point one to point done.”

Matt Cosgrove is the only senior on this young NKU team. He means a lot to Palilonis, being able to come to NKU from Pennsylvania State University.

“Matt means the world because it is a difficult proposition to buy into this concept of going from a place like Penn State that’s so established to a complete unknown. We had a little senior luncheon today, and we were joking about the visit,” Palilonis said. “The visit was actually on Memorial Day. The whole campus was closed. We’re trying to get into buildings, and it was the only chance he had before he had to go on a summer internship. So we had like, four hours to do a visit and get him here. The leap of faith that their family took in us is tremendous. And couldn’t be more proud of that kid.”

Palilonis couldn’t appreciate the NKU community more for showing him and his team all the love and support in the inaugural season. He sees that the future is bright here for volleyball.

“We’ve had tremendous support. It’s [volleyball] one of those things that we know is going to grow as people find out about it and get excited about it. This year, it’s been great. Having the band, having the cheerleaders, having the energy in this environment, and support from our friends and family. It’s just been a great, great experience,” Palilonis said.