HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Going into Saturday's Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division showdown in Regents Hall, Indianapolis had beaten Northern Kentucky University six consecutive times on the volleyball court.
NKU seniors
Kristina Eisenmenger and
Kelsey Wesaw made sure the streak did not reach seven.
Eisenmenger and Wesaw combined for 36 kills and eight blocks as NKU hammered away for a 25-18, 25-20, 23-25, 25-22 win over Indianapolis. The Norse hit .333 as a team, totally controlled play at the net and defeated the Greyhounds for the first time since 2005.
Indianapolis, which entered the match ranked No. 23 in the NCAA Division II poll, managed to hit only .195 against the taller Norse. NKU finished with a 19-10 edge in total blocks and held a 64-46 advantage in digs.
Eisenmenger attacked at a .432 clip and had five blocks. Wesaw, a 6-foot-3 senior in her first season with the Norse, hit .364 for the match with three blocks. In addition, 6-2 sophomore
Annie Lucas added six kills, five blocks and attacked at a .500 clip for the match as the NKU offense delivered a convincing performance against Indianapolis.
Freshman outside hitter
Noelle Peterson finished with nine kills and a .643 hitting percentage.
Natalie Forbes ran the offense to perfection and collected 50 assists. The former Highlands High School standout also added 16 digs and two service aces.
NKU rolled past the Greyhounds in the opening two sets by attacking at clips of .378 and .444. Indianapolis pulled out a 25-23 win in the third, and the Greyhounds appeared on the verge of forcing a fifth set by jumping out to an 18-13 lead in the fourth stanza.
NKU, however, used an 8-3 run to tie the set at 21-all. After Indianapolis regained the lead at 22-21, Wesaw tied it at 22-all with a kill, and Eisenmenger converted two consecutive attacks to give NKU a 24-22 advantage.
Peterson closed out the match by serving up an ace, and NKU improved to 11-3 overall, 4-1 in the GLVC.
Eisenmenger, a graduate of Notre Dame Academy, upped her career kills total to 1,437. She is currently in eighth place in school history in that category.
Kristin Koralewski, who finished with 1,485 career kills, is seventh in NKU history.
Kristina Hefferan led Indianapolis (11-3 overall, 4-1 GLVC) with 19 kills. Lyndsay Callahan added 13 kills for the Greyhounds, who had not lost to NKU since dropping a five-set decision in Regents hall on Sept. 16, 2005.
NKU returns to action Tuesday with a non-conference match at Wheeling Jesuit. The Norse also visit Southern Indiana next Friday night for a GLVC match.
NKU is at home next Saturday to meet both Glenville State (noon) and Urbana (4 p.m.).
