NKU meets defending national champion Concordia-St. Paul this Friday in Tampa.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team begins the season this Friday by meeting three-time defending NCAA Division II national champion Concordia-St. Paul in the University of Tampa Classic.
Concordia-St. Paul finished with a 37-0 record last season en route to its third straight national championship. The Golden Bears won 32 matches by 3-0 sweeps and have dominated NCAA Division II volleyball during the past three years with 74 straight victories.
The Norse also face Nebraska-Kearney (33-3 last season), Central Missouri (34-5 last season) and Tampa (31-3 last season) during that same two-day tournament in Florida. Those three teams also advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament last year, with Tampa earning a trip to the Elite Eight.
NKU posted a 20-12 record last year. The Norse, who return five starters this year, have won at least 20 matches for 17 consecutive seasons.
NKU plays its home opener Sept. 7 against the College of Mount St. Joseph. The next evening, Charleston (W.Va.) visits Regents Hall to meet the Norse.
RUGGED BEGINNING: All four of the teams NKU will face in the season-opening tournament in Florida are in the NCAA Division II preseason national poll. Concordia-St. Paul is No. 1, Tampa is No. 3, Central Missouri is No. 5, while Nebraska-Kearney is No. 13.
ACES GALORE: NKU led the Great Lakes Valley Conference in service aces last season with an average of 2.13 sapg. The Norse collected a total of 249 aces as a team in 2009. NKU's
Kylee Tarantino finished No. 1 in the GLVC with 56 aces (0.48 sapg) as a freshman. Norse setter
Jenna Schreiver was 13th in the final GLVC statistics with an average of 0.32 sapg last season.
BIG LOSS: NKU senior middle hitter
Kim Nemcek, an All-GLVC and All-Midwest Region performer last year, will sit out as a redshirt this season due to an injury. Nemcek led the GLVC in kills per game (3.89) and was sixth in hitting percentage (.317) last fall.
DIG THIS: NKU senior libero
Chelsea Clark enters this season with 1,212 career digs, which is fifth in Norse history. Clark finished with a team-leading 447 digs last season.
GLVC PRESEASON POLL: NKU is picked to finish fourth in the GLVC preseason poll. NKU received 158 total points in the poll. The Norse were 10-4 in the GLVC last year and finished fourth in the league standings.
Defending GLVC champion Indianapolis is the preseason pick to win the GLVC. The Greyhounds, who also won the NCAA Division II Midwest Region championship last fall, collected 193 total points and 11 first-place votes in the poll. Indianapolis posted a 38-2 overall record last season, including a 13-1 mark in the GLVC.
Lewis totaled 179 total points and picked up two first-place votes to finish second in the poll. The Flyers (32-5, 14-0 GLVC) finished atop the GLVC regular-season standings in 2009.
