.jpg)
 |
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - It's still too early in the season to have been categorized as a must-win situation, but Northern Kentucky University definitely needed a bounce-back performance Saturday afternoon when Southern Indiana visited Regents Hall. And NKU produced just that with a three-game sweep over Southern Indiana. The Norse - who had suffered two straight losses going into Saturday - knocked off the Screaming Eagles, 30-18, 30-21, 32-30. The win came at just the right time for NKU, which suffered a heartbreaking five-game loss to No. 19 Southern Illinois at Edwardsville on Friday night. The Norse bounced back in big-time fashion against Southern Indiana, hitting a whopping .453 en route to the victory. Liz Holmes led the way for NKU with 16 kills and 11 digs. The junior middle hitter also attacked at a .750 clip and had three blocks. Tristen Dye added 14 kills, eight digs and a .579 hitting percentage for NKU. Andrea Price finished with 12 kills and hit .375 for the match. NKU started off by hitting .560 and coasting to a 30-18 win in the first game. Dye and Price combined for nine kills in 12 attempts with no errors in the opening game. Holmes and Dye controlled the second game, with each player smashing down seven kills. NKU hit .533 in that game and limited Southern Indiana to a .171 hitting percentage to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Southern Indiana battled back in the third game and built a seven-point lead (21-14) before NKU rallied. The Norse used an 8-1 run to tie the score at 22-all on a kill by Kristina Eisenmenger. Southern Indiana countered with a 5-1 run to take a 27-23 lead, but NKU responded again. The Norse scored the next four points, capped by an assisted block by Holmes and Eisenmenger to tie the score at 27-all. The teams traded points until consecutive kills by Andrea Lanham and Dye gave NKU a 32-30 win and the sweep. The Norse - who have now beaten Southern Indiana two straight years - improved to 13-10 overall, 7-4 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Southern Indiana dropped to 13-7 overall, 5-4 in the GLVC. Lanham finished with 43 assists, five kills, two service aces and a .300 hitting percentage. Lindsay Zumdick served up four aces and had nine digs for NKU. The Norse finished with 43-18 advantage in digs. NKU will play a pair of non-conference matches next Saturday at Memphis, Tenn., against both Oauchita Baptist and Christian Brothers. The Norse resume GLVC play Oct. 17 at home against Bellarmine. |
