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RENSSELAER, Ind. - Liz Holmes finished with 16 kills, 15 digs and a .394 hitting percentage Friday night as Northern Kentucky University posted a 30-22, 30-21, 30-19 victory over Saint Joseph's at the Scharf Alumni Fieldhouse. Holmes, a senior middle hitter who leads the Great Lakes Valley Conference in hitting percentage, hammered down nine kills and attacked at a .667 clip in the first game as NKU cruised to a 30-22 win. The Norse set the tone early and hit .357 (18 kills, 42 attempts, three errors) in the first game. Holmes now has 1,567 career kills, which ranks fifth all-time in Norse history. The Mercy High School product needs 16 kills to pass Kerry Lewin for fourth place on the all-time list at NKU. Kristina Eisenmenger added seven kills and hit .400 for NKU, which is ranked No. 22 nationally in the latest NCAA Division II poll, which is conducted by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Junior setter Natalie Forbes, who leads the GLVC in assists, dished out 36 helpers and had 10 digs as the Norse improved to 15-3 overall, 4-1 in the GLVC. Tristen Dye collected a match-high 18 digs and added seven kills. Brittany Dixon and Chelsea Clark each finished with 12 digs for the Norse, who limited Saint Joseph's (8-6 overall, 2-3 GLVC) to a .014 hitting percentage. NKU leads the all-time series with Saint Joseph's by a 32-5 margin, and the Norse have not lost to the Pumas since Nov. 3, 2000. Since that setback, NKU has defeated Saint Joseph's 14 consecutive times. NKU will visit Indianapolis - which swept Bellarmine in three games Friday night - at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Greyhounds have won 11 consecutive matches and own a 14-1 overall record, 5-0 in the GLVC. Indianapolis won all three meetings with NKU last season, including a four-game decision in the first round of the GLVC Tournament. The Greyhounds swept the regular-season series by identical 3-0 scores. Indianapolis has defeated NKU four consecutive times dating back to 2005. |
