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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - If Northern Kentucky University continues to pass, set and attack like it did this weekend, the Norse will be contending for the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship in November. Less than 24 hours after ending No. 12 Southern Illinois at Edwardsville's Great Lakes Valley Conference regular-season winning streak at 37 straight matches, NKU put on another impressive display during a 30-19, 30-17, 30-21 sweep of Southern Indiana on Saturday. The Norse hit .373 for the match and limited the Screaming Eagles to a .132 hitting percentage en route to the victory. NKU, ranked No. 24 nationally in the NCAA Division II poll, improved to 17-4 overall, 6-2 in the GLVC. Southern Indiana is 9-8 overall, 4-5 in the GLVC. Liz Holmes continued her sizzling play by hammering down 20 kills in 27 attempts with just one error for a .704 hitting percentage. Holmes set the tone in the opening game by collecting nine kills - several of which were sent to the Southern Indiana side of the court with missile-like velocity - as NKU rolled to a 30-19 win. The Norse attacked at a .439 clip in the first game with 21 kills and only three errors in 41 attempts. Holmes, a senior middle hitter and a graduate of Mercy High School in Cincinnati, now has 1,623 career kills at NKU and moved in to second place all-time. She needs 79 kills to pass Bethany Gastright (1,702 kills) for the top spot in Norse history. Natalie Forbes, quickly emerging as one of the top setters in the region, dished out 54 assists and had 11 digs. She also served up three aces and ran the NKU offense to another impressive performance. NKU junior right-side hitter Kristina Eisenmenger also remained on target with her attacking with 13 kills and a .423 hitting percentage. Tristen Dye added 13 kills and 11 digs for the Norse, who used a 9-1 run in the third game to snap a 13-all tie and build a 22-14 lead. Freshman Morgan Elyea saw time as an outside hitter and finished with seven kills, two blocks and a .385 hitting percentage. Katie Latenser had 10 digs for the Norse, while Elizabeth Droessler added four kills and three blocks. Brittany Dixon collected nine digs for NKU, which finished with a 64-47 advantage in that category. NKU will begin a three-match road trip Thursday night at Missouri-St. Louis, which defeated the Norse for the first time in history last season. NKU will also play at Missouri-Rolla on Friday night and conclude the trip Saturday with a match at Quincy. |
