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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Jill Hopper had 16 kills, including seven in the decisive fourth set, to lead Florida Gulf Coast to a 3-1 (16-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-19) win over Northern Kentucky University in Atlantic Sun Conference volleyball action on Saturday afternoon.
FGCU improved to 14-7 overall, including 9-0 in A-Sun play. The Norse dropped to 18-4 overall, 6-3 in league play.
Kelly Morrissey slammed down 16 kills to lead NKU.
Shelby Buschur and
Haley Lippert each added 12 kills for the Norse.
Jenna Schreiver dished out 51 assists and collected nine digs, while
Kylee Tarantino and
Jayden Julian each had 12 digs.
Christine Pinder and Olivia Mesner each had 12 kills for the Eagles, while Whitney Masters added 17 digs in defense. Gigi Meyer and Courtney Greenberg each had 23 assists while splitting the setting duties for FGCU.
The Norse went on the attack early, racing out to a 10-4 lead in Set 1 and following up quickly with a 10-5 run. Morrissey had five kills in the set as NKU hit at a .424 clip in the set.
“I think we started off really strong,” said Morrissey. “It was nice to finally be back at home. We had a good crowd behind us, but those next few sets we struggled with a few rotations and couldn't get out of it, but other than that I think we played a really good game.”
A 6-1 run in the middle of Set 2 by the Eagles evened the match at 1-all, as FGCU took a 25-19 win. Pinder and Brittany Muse each chipped in five kills. The teams played level out of intermission to a 14-14 score until a late 6-2 run in Set 3 pushed FGCU to a 25-21 win. The Eagles attacked at a .607 clip, picking up 18 kills on 28 attacks.
The Norse came out with an early 7-4 lead in Set 4 before a five-point swing, including three kills by Hopper, gave the Eagles a lead they would not relinquish.
Both teams had outstanding offensive performances, with the Norse turning in a .351 attack percentage and Florida Gulf Coast hitting .370 on the match.
With the first round of conference matches complete, the Norse hit the road next weekend to return the trips to North Florida and Jacksonville this weekend before hosting their final non-conference match of the season on Oct. 21 against Eastern Kentucky.
