Liz Holmes had 20 kills against SIUE

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Heather Bonde and Kindra Westendorf combined for 32 kills and eight blocks as Southern Illinois at Edwardsville held off Northern Kentucky University, 23-30, 33-31, 30-14, 28-30, 15-13, in the semifinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament on Friday.

Bonde, the GLVC Player of the Year, finished with 18 kills and four blocks. Westendorf had 14 kills and four blocks as second-seeded SIUE (26-5) extended its winning streak to 17 consecutive matches.

Tina Talsma added 12 kills and 10 blocks for the Cougars, who finished with 32 block assists and advanced to the GLVC Tournament championship match for the second straight season.

SIUE now owns five consecutive victories over NKU, including a three-game sweep in last year’s GLVC Tournament semifinals at Evansville, Ind. The Norse have not beaten the Cougars since Sept. 28, 2002.

Sophomore middle hitter Liz Holmes led third-seeded NKU (26-7) with 20 kills and a .421 hitting percentage. Holmes also had 13 digs and two service aces for the Norse, who hit .174 for the match.

Junior setter Andrea Lanham finished with 55 assists and six kills for NKU, while teammate Tristen Dye added 12 kills. Kristina Eisenmenger had 11 kills, and Lynne Fischesser tallied nine kills, six blocks and seven digs.

Maria Tieman collected a match-high 21 digs for NKU. The Norse, who served up 20 aces Thursday to defeat Lewis, had just four aces against SIUE.

The Cougars served up 10 winners against NKU on Friday.

NKU is ranked 10th in the latest NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region poll. Eight teams from each of the nation’s eight regions will be selected when the pairings for the NCAA Tournament are announced Sunday.

BOX SCORE