Julie Lewis

WHEELING, W. Va . - A pair of service aces by Andrea Lanham late in the second game keyed Northern Kentucky University’s victory at Wheeling Jesuit on Thursday night.

Wheeling Jesuit owned a 29-28 lead and had already won the opening game by a 30-26 score. Lanham, however, served up an ace to tie the second stanza at 29-all, and she followed that with another ace to give NKU a 30-29 lead.

The Norse wrapped up the game with the next point and went on to defeat Wheeling Jesuit, 26-30, 31-29, 30-20, 30-12.

Lanham, a junior setter and a graduate of Notre Dame Academy, finished with 43 assists, seven digs and four aces for NKU, which improved to 17-4 overall. The Norse overcame a sluggish start to roll past the Cardinals (10-14) in the final two games and pick up the regional victory.

Julie Lewis notched a team-leading 13 kills for NKU, while teammate Tristen Dye added 12 kills. Liz Holmes collected 10 kills, four service aces, eight digs and six blocks for the Norse.

Natalie Forbes, a freshman and a Highlands High School graduate, finished with 16 digs and four aces. NKU served up 17 total aces Thursday night.

Maria Tieman had three aces for the Norse, and teammate Lynne Fischesser - who leads the GLVC in service aces - served up two against Wheeling Jesuit. Kristina Eisenmenger added nine kills and four blocks.

The Norse will resume Great Lakes Valley Conference play Oct. 14 with a match against defending league champion Southern Indiana at Evansville, Ind. NKU will also meet preseason GLVC favorite Southern Illinois at Edwardsville on Oct. 15 at Edwardsville, Ill.

NKU is ranked ninth in the latest NCAA II Great Lakes Region poll. The top eight teams in that poll will advance to the NCAA Division II Tournament in November.