Northern Kentucky University Athletics

Box score

INDIANAPOLIS - That seemingly immovable wall, also known as the first round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament, has officially been demolished by Northern Kentucky University's volleyball program.

NKU ended a five-year streak of first-round losses in the GLVC Tournament by sweeping past Southern Indiana, 25-19, 25-19, 26-24, Friday in the Ruth Lilly Center. The Norse (25-4) limited Southern Indiana (20-10) to a .115 hitting percentage and advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2005.

Before Friday, NKU's last victory in the GLVC Tournament came on Nov. 10, 2005, when the Norse posted a 30-24, 30-28, 28-30, 30-26 win over Lewis in the opening round.

Noelle Peterson and Sarah Drennen slammed down 11 kills apiece to lead NKU, which is ranked 16th nationally in the NCAA Division II poll. Peterson hit .458 with five digs, while Drennen – who upped her career kills total to 994 - added eight digs.

Gennie Galfano added 10 kills and attacked at a .562 clip as the Norse defeated Southern Indiana for the third time this season. NKU, which had lost the last three times it faced Southern Indiana in the GLVC Tournament, hit .279 for the match with 11 team blocks.

Shelby Buschur collected six block assists, while Jenna Ruble added a solo block and three block assists. Galfano and Drennen both had three block assists. Buschur also recorded seven kills and hit .333, while setter Jenna Schreiver dished out 41 assists.

Tied at 17-all in the first set, NKU closed the stanza with an 8-2 run to capture a 25-19 win. Consecutive kills by Galfano, Peterson and Buschur gave NKU a 20-17 lead, and the Norse later capped the victory on Drennen's kill at set point.

Trailing 23-22 in the third set, NKU used a 4-1 spurt to wrap up the sweep. Buschur tied it at 23-all with a kill, and a Southern Indiana attack error gave the Norse a 24-23 edge.

Danielle LaGrange responded with a kill for Southern Indiana to tie it at 24-all, but Drennen sealed the win for NKU by converting two straight attacks.

LaGrange, who was named GLVC Player of the Year on Thursday, led Southern Indiana with 12 kills but hit just .189. She also added four blocks.

NKU is now 37-11 all-time against Southern Indiana. The Screaming Eagles, though, had eliminated NKU from the GLVC Tournament in 2002 (championship), '03 (semifinals) and '08 (first round).

NKU will meet top-seeded Indianapolis in the semifinals Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Greyhounds have beaten the Norse six consecutive times at home, with NKU's last road victory in the series coming on Oct. 29, 2004.

The Norse are looking to win a GLVC Tournament title for the first time since 2001.