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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – ESPN has “30 for 30.” Northern Kentucky University is inching closer to “20 for 20.”
Haley Lippert had 12 kills to lead the Norse volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-23) victory over Stetson in Atlantic Sun Conference play. It was NKU's 18th victory in its inaugural season as the Norse push forward in search of their 20th consecutive 20-win season.
NKU's streak of 20-win seasons began in 1993 when the Norse, coached by NKU Hall of Famer Mary Biermann, posted a 27-11 record. Two years later, NKU began a string of six conference championships over a seven-year span.
Senior setter
Jenna Schreiver recorded her sixth double-double of the season, racking up 39 assists and 10 digs.
Jayden Julian picked up 11 kills and Shelby Buscher added 10. The Norse defense was paced by
Kylee Tarantino, who had 18 digs.
For head coach
Liz Hart, the success was all-around for the team, playing just its fourth home match of the season and first in three weeks. “I thought we did a nice job, and it was nice to get home finally,” she said. “I thought we came out really strong in the first set, our offense played really well and that continued into the second and third set. I was really pleased with how we played.”
The Norse quickly pushed out to a 10-4 lead in the opening set, keyed by Buschur's three-kill effort in the early run. Another big 7-2 run closed out the set, with
Jenna Ruble contributing five of her seven kills during Set 1.
The Hatters (4-21, 0-8 A-Sun) found their feet in Set 2, rattling off a 6-2 run to take an early lead. The lead was short-lived, however, as
Gennie Galfano picked up a solo block and a pair of kills to close out a 10-2 run to push NKU to a 25-18 lead.
After an 11-3 Norse run early in Set 3 turned into a 24-17 Norse lead late, Stetson showed life once more, rallying six straight points to slice the deficit to 24-23 before Galfano finished the match off with her fourth kill of the night.
The Norse hit at a .302 pace, marking the seventh time this season that the Norse have finished with an attack percentage above .300, with NKU posting a 7-0 record in those games.
NKU wraps up the home weekend with a Saturday matinee against A-Sun front-runner Florida Gulf Coast. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m.
