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FLORENCE, Ala. - Liz Holmes and Kristina Eisenmenger combined for 31 kills and seven blocks Friday afternoon as Northern Kentucky University began the season with a 30-22, 25-30, 30-24, 30-26 victory over North Dakota in the North Alabama Classic. Holmes pounded down 18 kills and hit .452 for the Norse, while Eisenmenger added 13 kills and a .440 hitting percentage. NKU attacked at a .355 clip for the match as setter Natalie Forbes dished out 36 assists. Tristen Dye collected a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs. Dye also served up seven aces for NKU, which finished with 13 aces and 22 serving errors. The NKU defense limited North Dakota to a .142 hitting percentage. The taller Fighting Sioux, in their final season of competition as a NCAA Division II member after deciding to reclassify to Division I status, were led by Britta Hanson's 13 kills. Brittany Dixon and Chelsea Clark each finished with eight digs for NKU, which used a 4-1 spurt to end the match in the fourth game. Holmes had two kills during the run, and Clark gave NKU the victory with a kill on match point. Clark added five kills and attacked at a .308 clip for the Norse in her collegiate debut. The all-time series between NKU and North Dakota is now tied at 1-1. NKU will take on No. 9 North Alabama tonight at 8 p.m. On Saturday, NKU plays No. 8 Ashland - the defending NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region champion. In addition, the Norse play Tusculum on Saturday. |
