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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Difficult schedules tend to make teams better at the end of the season, and that's exactly what Northern Kentucky University is counting on when it begins play in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament next week. Having already faced six nationally ranked teams in the NCAA Division II poll this season, NKU played yet another Tuesday night when No. 25 Findlay visited Regents Hall. The Norse put together one of their best efforts and rolled to a three-game sweep of the Oilers, 30-21, 30-20, 30-28. NKU (18-11) attacked at a .463 clip as a team and limited Findlay (20-7) to a .210 hitting percentage. The Norse won the digging battle by a 46-25 margin and dominated the match with quickness and a fast-paced offensive attack that confounded the visitors from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. NKU started quickly as Kristina Eisenmenger had six kills and hit .556 in the first game to lead the Norse to a 30-21 win. Tristen Dye served up three aces in the opening game and added five kills. The NKU attackers zeroed in on the Findlay side of the court in the second game and hit .533 en route to a 30-20 victory. Dye and Liz Holmes each hammered down six kills in that game as the Norse took a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. Findlay ran out to a 14-12 lead in the third stanza, but NKU countered with a 5-0 run to take a 17-14 advantage. Holmes sparked the run with a pair of kills, and Andrea Price added a service ace. After Findlay tied the game at 24-all, NKU scored five of the next seven points to take a 29-26 lead. The Oilers responded with the next two points to make it 29-28, but Dye ended the match by slamming down a set from Andrea Lanham for her 16th kill and a 30-28 NKU victory.
Dye added four aces, seven digs and a .429 hitting percentage. Holmes attacked at a .611 clip and had 14 kills, three aces and eight digs. Eisenmenger finished with 12 kills and a .611 hitting percentage. Lanham directed the offense and dished out 46 assists. The senior setter also added four kills, eight digs and a .571 hitting percentage. Mallory Fleming recorded 14 kills to lead Findlay, which owned three consecutive regular-season wins against NKU entering Tuesday night. NKU’s last regular-season win against Findlay had come on Oct. 23, 2002, when the Norse pulled out a 30-22, 28-30, 30-24, 31-29 victory at Findlay, Ohio. In 2003, the two teams played in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional at Marquette, Mich., and NKU defeated Findlay in four games. NKU closes out its GLVC regular-season schedule at home this weekend with matches against Drury (Friday at 7 p.m.) and Rockhurst (Saturday at 2 p.m.). NKU will hold Senior Night festivities prior to Friday’s match. On Saturday, NKU will again face a nationally ranked team when No. 17 Rockhurst visits Regents Hall for the first time since joining the GLVC. The Norse will also play host to Charleston (W. Va.) on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. before leaving for the GLVC Tournament. NKU is currently tied with Indianapolis for fourth place in the GLVC standings with 9-5 records, and it appears those two teams will meet in the first round of the GLVC Tournament. Southern Illinois at Edwardsville has already clinched the No. 1 seed in the GLVC Tournament, which begins Nov. 2.
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