HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team will meet Saint Joseph’s College at 6 p.m. (EST) Thursday in the first round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament at Evansville, Ind.
NKU, with a 21-8 overall record and a 13-3 mark in the GLVC, will be the third seed and meet sixth-seeded Saint Joseph’s (12-21) in the opener. The winner of that match will face second-seeded Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville - which has a first-round bye - at 6 p.m. (EST) Friday.
SIUE owns a 24-6 overall record, and the Cougars posted a 14-2 mark in the GLVC. The GLVC championship match will be played at 3 p.m. (EST) Saturday. The University of Southern Indiana will be the No. 1 seed and host for the GLVC Tournament.
The winner of the GLVC Tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
If NKU advances to the semifinals, that match can be heard live on the Internet at http://www.nku.edu/~athletics/0405broadcastpage.htm. The championship match will also be broadcast if NKU is involved.
NKU is 2-0 against Saint Joseph’s this season and owns a 26-5 lead in the all-time series with the Pumas. The Norse, however, lost to both SIUE and Southern Indiana in their only meetings this fall.
NKU rolled to its 11th consecutive victory last Saturday with a three-game sweep over the University of Charleston (W. Va.). Kristin Koralewski hammered down 19 kills and finished with a .500 hitting percentage as NKU eased by Charleston, 30-20, 30-18, 30-22, in Regents Hall. The senior All-American also added two service aces in her final home match.
Koralewski enters the GLVC Tournament with 1,460 career kills, which ranks sixth in Norse history. She leads the GLVC in kills (5.04 kpg) and hitting percentage (.390). Koralewski also has 534 total kills and is 67 shy of breaking Bethany Gastright’s single-season NKU record of 600, set during the 2000 campaign.
Liz Holmes finished with 11 kills and a .500 hitting percentage last Saturday against Charleston. The freshman middle hitter also added 10 digs and served up two aces for NKU, which attacked at a .457 clip as a team. Holmes has 379 kills and a .335 hitting percentage this fall.
Sophomore setter Andrea Lanham leads the GLVC in assists (13.15 apg). She also has 26 service aces and 222 digs this season. Senior libero Amber Timmons ranks fifth in Norse history with 1,180 career digs. She has a total of 361 digs this season.
NKU has won six of the last nine GLVC Tournament championships, including five straight from 1997-2001. The Norse lost to Southern Indiana in the GLVC Tournament semifinals last season in Regents Hall.
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Kristin Koralewski |