HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team will play host to Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville at 7 p.m. Friday in a pivotal Great Lakes Valley Conference match.
NKU enters that match with an 8-4 overall record, while SIUE is 11-4. The Norse are 1-0 in the GLVC, while the Cougars are 2-0 in the league. NKU has won five consecutive matches going into Friday.
The Norse will also play host to the University of Southern Indiana at 2 p.m. Saturday. Southern Indiana is 8-4 overall, 2-0 in the GLVC.
NKU posted a 30-28, 30-20, 30-20 win over Bellarmine University last Saturday in Regents Hall. Kristin Koralewski finished with 15 kills, seven digs and a .565 hitting percentage as the Norse won their GLVC opener. Maggie Pugh added eight kills in 12 attempts with no errors for a .667 hitting percentage.
Koralewski enters Friday with 1,103 career kills at NKU, and she is ninth on the Norse’s all-time list in that category. She also needs just 36 digs to become the sixth player in NKU history to record both 1,000 digs and 1,000 kills.
NKU freshman middle hitter Liz Holmes leads the GLVC in hitting percentage at .354. Holmes ranks No. 2 on the team with 166 kills.
A year ago, SIUE posted a three-game victory against NKU in Regents Hall. Heather Bonde finished with 13 kills for the Cougars, who won for the first time ever in Regents Hall and snapped a five-year losing streak against the Norse.
The Cougars’ only other victory against NKU came on Sept. 25, 1998, when SIUE pulled off a five-game upset of the Norse at Edwardsville, Ill.
NKU leads the all-time series with SIUE by a 13-2 margin.
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Liz Holmes |