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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Three of the hardest hitters in the Great Lakes Valley Conference squared off in Regents Hall on Friday night, and it was the rocket-like attacks of Kim Potthast that helped Southern Illinois at Edwardsville rally for a five-game victory over Northern Kentucky University. Potthast hammered down 21 kills and attacked at a .541 clip as SIUE overcame a 2-0 deficit in games to knock off NKU, 35-37, 27-30, 30-23, 30-26, 15-8. The Cougars - ranked 19th nationally in the NCAA Division II poll - hit .480 as a team during the final two games to pull out the two-hour marathon and remain unbeaten (9-0) in the GLVC. Potthast, a 6-foot-1 junior who used a powerful windmill swing to hammer down the 21 kills, also had four blocks. Kelsey Hubert added 18 kills and a .421 hitting percentage for SIUE, which upped its overall mark to 18-4. Jamie Jones collected nine kills and hit .438 as the Cougars defeated NKU for the sixth consecutive time. Kristina Eisenmenger and Liz Holmes - two of the GLVC’s top attackers in the latest statistics - combined for 38 kills and a .384 hitting percentage for NKU, which won the first two games by holding the SIUE attackers under .200. Eisenmenger finished with 23 kills and attacked at a .400 clip, while Holmes had 15 kills, 17 digs and a .357 hitting percentage. Eisenmenger converted two straight attacks in the opening game to give NKU a 37-35 win. The Norse then rallied from a 19-14 deficit in the second game to pull out a 30-27 victory when Holmes smashed down a kill for the final point. NKU jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the third game and appeared to be on the verge of wrapping up a sweep, but SIUE responded behind the play of Potthast and Hubert. Setter Mallory Clements served up five aces and dished out 52 assists for the Cougars. SIUE had just two total hitting errors in the final two games, and the Cougars capped the win in the fifth game with a 6-1 run. NKU has not beaten SIUE since Sept. 28, 2002, when the Norse pulled out a five-game victory at Edwardsville, Ill. Tristen Dye collected 17 kills and a team-leading 19 digs for NKU, which dropped to 12-10 overall, 6-4 in the GLVC. Andrea Price added a double-double (13 kills, 13 digs), while setter Andrea Lanham finished with 70 assists, three service aces and 10 digs. Megan Dooley had 15 digs for the Norse, who totaled 83 in that category. NKU will play host to Southern Indiana at 2 p.m. Saturday. |
