HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. -
Kelsey Wesaw finished with 17 kills and a .438 hitting percentage as the Northern Kentucky University volleyball team extended its winning streak to nine by rallying for a five-set victory over Quincy on Saturday afternoon.
NKU capped its five-match homestand with a 24-26, 28-30, 25-23, 25-17, 15-5 triumph and improved to 18-3 overall, 8-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The 25th-ranked Norse rallied from a two-set deficit and won a match in Regents Hall for the third consecutive day.
A week ago, NKU defeated Glenville State and Urbana to begin its homestand. The Norse also posted sweeps against Missouri-St. Louis and Missouri S&T prior to knocking off Quincy in five sets Saturday.
Quincy (8-12 overall, 2-7 GLVC) took advantage of three straight attacking errors by NKU to pull out the opening set, and the Lady Hawks built a 2-0 lead in sets by winning the second stanza on consecutive kills by Katie Ebbing and Val Braglia.
NKU, however, rallied behind the play of Wesaw and senior setter
Natalie Forbes, who recorded 54 assists, 12 digs and three blocks. After Quincy took a 21-20 lead in the third set, NKU closed with a 5-2 run for a 25-23 win. Wesaw ended the set by slamming down a kill off an assist from Forbes.
The Norse attacked at a .355 clip in the fourth set and cruised to a 25-17 win. NKU then captured the match by hitting .545 in the fifth set en route to a 15-5 victory.
A pair of Wesaw kills sandwiched around a service ace by
Noelle Peterson allowed NKU to build a 3-0 lead in the fifth set, and the Norse rolled to the win. Peterson finished with 15 kills and two aces.
Kristina Eisenmenger tallied 18 kills for NKU, which hit .237 for the match.
Kim Nemcek added nine kills, nine digs and six blocks, while teammate
Chelsea Clark served up four aces and led the defense with 15 digs.
NKU is now 22-1 all-time against Quincy. The Norse's only loss to Quincy came on Sept. 11, 1998, when the Lady Hawks outlasted NKU in five sets at Quincy, Ill.
NKU hits the road next week for GLVC contests at Rockhurst (Thursday) and Drury (Friday). The Norse then travel the following week to Indianapolis, Ind., to participate in the GLVC/Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Crossover.
NKU's next home match is Nov. 1 against Kentucky Wesleyan.
