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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Meredith Hardy had 25 kills to pace the East Tennessee State volleyball team to a 3-2 (25-20, 19-25, 27-25, 22-25, 15-10) victory over Northern Kentucky on Saturday afternoon in Atlantic Sun Conference action.
Megan Devine added a double-double with 18 kills and 14 digs as ETSU improved to 17-10 overall and 8-5 in A-Sun play.
NKU's
Jenna Schreiver was two kills shy of a triple-double, chipping in 46 assists, 10 digs and eight kills.
Shelby Buschur led the Norse offense with 15 kills and
Kelly Morrissey added 14 kills and 10 digs.
Kylee Tarantino led the Norse defense with 15 digs and
Mel Stewart matched her career high with 12 digs.
A 10-4 run for the Buccaneers turned a 5-1 NKU lead to an 11-9 advantage that ETSU would not relinquish in the opening set. Devine picked up five kills in the set and Ivey Rice added four of her 14 kills as well.
NKU (21-6, 8-5 A-Sun) jumped out to an early lead again in Set 2, opening on a 4-1 run before ETSU came back to level the set, 8-8. The teams remained level up to 14-14 before the Norse took over with a 7-2 run keyed by Morrissey's three kills en route to a 25-19 set win.
Hardy added eight kills in Set 3 as ETSU wiped out a 13-7 deficit and claimed a 27-25 win before NKU leveled the match with a 25-22 Set 4 win, forcing a fifth set for the fifth time this season.
The fifth set stayed level point-for-point to 6-6 until Devine served up a three-point rally that turned the tide for ETSU. Hardy added three more kills to push the Buccaneers to the final score.
NKU returns to action on Tuesday in a midweek contest at Lipscomb. First serve is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
