Match Notes
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team enters its final weekend of the 2012 season with a bit of a “bowl game” road trip, heading to south Florida to take on Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast in a pair of Atlantic Sun Conference matches.
Friday's match against Stetson has a 6 p.m. first serve, while the Norse will close out the season at FGCU on Saturday at 7 p.m. Both matches will be available on ASun.tv and live stats links are available at nkunorse.com.
NKU's opponents provide a muted opportunity for the Norse to play postseason spoiler. While neither of this weekend's matches will impact A-Sun Tournament participation, NKU can help knock FGCU to the No. 2 seed with a win on Saturday if Lipscomb can defeat FGCU in their match on Friday.
If they were eligible, the Norse, at 23-7 overall and 10-6 in A-Sun play, would have already clinched no worse than a No. 5 seed in the A-Sun Tournament. The volleyball team is the second NKU squad to accomplish this feat, as NKU men's soccer finished the regular-season as the fourth-place team in the A-Sun standings.
NKU closed out the home schedule with victories over Mercer (3-0) and Kennesaw State (3- 1).
Haley Lippert hit .339 across the two matches and recorded a team-high 29 kills. Lippert also collected a career-high six digs in the Kennesaw State victory.
A WORD ABOUT STETSON: The Hatters enter the season's final weekend with a 4-29 overall record and winless in A-Sun play. Kaley Melville has been a bright spot for the Hatters, racking up 330 kills on the season to lead the offense. Melville also ranks second on the team in digs at 329, while Monique Russell, at 484 digs, ranks seventh in the A-Sun defensively.
LAST TIME AGAINST STETSON: Stetson's current nine-match losing streak started with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-23) loss to NKU back on Oct. 12, marking the only previous meeting between the teams.
Haley Lippert knocked home 12 kills while
Jayden Julian added 11 in the win.
Kylee Tarantino added 18 digs and a pair of service aces. Cailyn Prewitt led the Hatters with 10 kills.
A WORD ABOUT FGCU: The current A-Sun front runners need just one win this weekend to win their third A-Sun regular-season crown and their first since 2008. The Eagles (28-1, 15-1 A-Sun) ran roughshod over the conference, compiling a 15-match winning streak that was snapped on Nov. 2 with a 3-2 loss at ETSU. FGCU leads the league in hitting (.264) and opponent hitting (.177) in league matches this year, paced by Olivia Mesner, who has attacked at a .440 clip in league play this season.
LAST TIME AGAINST FGCU: The Eagles rallied back from a Set 1 loss to claim a 3-1 (16-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-19) win over NKU back on Oct. 13. Jill Hopper had 16 kills, including seven in the decisive fourth set, while
Kelly Morrissey lead the Norse with 16 kills of her own. The win made FGCU 2-0 in the all-time series.
OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY: A pair of NKU middle hitters rank among the top five in hitting percentage in the A-Sun.
Jenna Ruble leads the league at .357, ten points ahead of FGCU's Olivia Mesner, who hits at a .347 clip.
Shelby Buschur also ranks fourth in the league, hitting at a .319 clip this season.
SPREAD POINTS: NKU has the potential this week to list five players with 200 or more kills.
Shelby Buschur,
Haley Lippert,
Kelly Morrissey and
Jenna Ruble are already over the 200-kill mark while
Jayden Julian is just 10 kills away from joining them. Additionally, with three kills this weekend,
Haley Lippert will join
Shelby Buschur and
Kelly Morrissey in passing the 300-kill mark on the year. NKU would become the second A-Sun squad to boast three players with 300 or more kills in 2012 (Lipscomb -- Kaycee Green, Lauren Ford, Jewell Dobson).
