HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Northern Kentucky University began a key weekend homestand Friday night with a 30-26, 24-30, 31-29, 30-19 victory over Saint Joseph’s College in Regents Hall.
NKU entered the match tied with Saint Joseph’s for fourth place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference standings, but the Norse hit .309 to improve to 13-8 overall, 6-3 in the GLVC. NKU also snapped a three-match home losing streak and upped its lead in the all-time series against Saint Joseph’s (10-15 overall, 5-4 GLVC) to 25-5.
Kristin Koralewski led NKU with a career-high 30 kills, and the senior All-American also added 11 digs and a .390 hitting percentage. Lynne Fischesser finished with 16 kills, a .500 hitting percentage and 17 digs.
Koralewski notched 10 kills in the opening game as the Norse held on for a 30-26 win. Saint Joseph’s rallied to take the second game by a 30-24 score by limiting NKU to a .189 hitting percentage.
Saint Joseph’s held a 27-25 lead in the third game and appeared in control, but Fischesser responded with a kill and a service ace to tie the score at 27-27. With the game tied at 29-29, Koralewski slammed down a kill to give the Norse a 30-29 advantage. She then ended the game by converting another attack to give NKU a 31-29 victory.
NKU attacked at a .412 clip in the fourth game to win the match. Koralewski notched seven kills in the final game and hit .636. Fischesser added five kills and a .571 hitting percentage in the fourth game.
Andrea Lanham recorded 69 assists, nine digs and three service aces for NKU. Liz Holmes added 14 kills and nine digs, while Amber Timmons finished with 19 digs. Tristen Dye collected 11 kills and nine digs for the Norse.
Breanne Evans led Saint Joseph’s with 15 kills and 14 digs.
NKU will face GLVC leader University of Indianapolis at 2 p.m. Saturday in Regents Hall. Indianapolis is 9-0 in the GLVC (18-7 overall) and in sole possession of first place in the league standings.
The Norse own a 31-3 all-time record against Indianapolis. A year ago, NKU split two meetings with Indianapolis last season, with each team winning at home.
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Kristin Koralewski |