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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. -
Shelby Buschur had 18 kills and five blocks to lead the Northern Kentucky University volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-15) victory over South Carolina Upstate in Atlantic Sun volleyball action on Friday night.
Kelly Morrissey chipped in 10 kills while
Jenna Ruble added nine.
Jenna Schreiver dished out 46 assists to drive the Norse offense. NKU (21-5, 8-4 A-Sun) was led defensively by
Kylee Tarantino, who had 18 digs.
“Shelby was with it today,” said head coach
Liz Hart. “She did great job moving along the net, running sets, frustrating some of the blockers. She does a great job serving the ball and transitioning to get back.”
NKU dominated the kill count, 51-28. Emily Bingham led Upstate (10-14, 5-7 A-Sun) with eight kills and four blocks while Emily Sanders collected 13 digs.
Long runs were the order of the day as Buschur got seven of her kills in an 11-2 run in Set 1 for the Norse, who took the opener, 25-20. Buschur credited the strong serving with keeping her team in rhythm.
“It helps a lot when we are serving well,” said Buschur. “Especially as a hitter if we can just sit up at the net and block it's a lot easier for us and we can upset the team when they see we get comfortable.”
Buschur picked up seven more kills in Set 2, while NKU jumped ahead early 3-0 and never relinquished that lead, winning the set 25-22.
An 11-1 run for the Norse set the tone in Set 3, as
Mel Stewart served eight-consecutive points early.
Four of Buschur's five blocks came in the set as well, as the Norse held Upstate to just seven kills and a -.065 hitting percentage in the set.
The senior now has 278 block assists in her career, passing Prudi Downs for fourth all-time at NKU.
NKU concludes its three-match home stand on Saturday afternoon against East Tennessee State. First serve is set for 3 p.m.
