Northern Kentucky University Athletics

Box score

DELAND, Fla. – Haley Lippert collected 15 kills to lead the Northern Kentucky University volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-14) victory over Stetson in Atlantic Sun Conference play on Friday night.

NKU improved to 24-7 overall and 11-6 in the Atlantic Sun with the win.

The Norse attacked at a .298 clip in the first set, led by Lippert's five kills, for a 1-0 advantage.  With Stetson (4-30 overall, 0-17 in the Atlantic Sun) holding a 13-12 lead, NKU rattled off three unanswered points to take the lead for good.  After the Norse stretched the lead to 17-15, the Hatters were unable to pull any closer than two points the rest of the set.

NKU held off a late rally by Stetson and limited the Hatters to a .050 hitting percentage in the second set to pull out a 25-23 victory and take a 2-0 lead .  The Hatters put together a 9-2 run to pull within one (23-22) but two errors by Stetson in the final three points gave the Norse the victory.

Lippert added six kills of her game-high 15 in the final stanza and helped fuel a 14-2 run to close out the match for NKU.  She used back-to-back kills to extend the Norse lead to 24-14, and an attack error by the Hatters sealed the victory.

Lippert became the third NKU player this season to pass the 300-kill mark, joining Shelby Buschur and Kelly Morrissey.  NKU is only the second team in the Atlantic Sun this season with three players who have collected 300 or more kills.

Buschur added 10 kills and three blocks for the Norse.  Morrissey, Jenna Ruble and Jayden Julian each collected six kills on the night.  Jenna Schreiver finished with a double-double after accumulating 38 assists and 10 digs.

Kylee Tarantino paced the NKU defense with 20 digs, while Anna Prickel added nine for the Norse.

Kelly Carneal finished with 14 assists and 10 digs for the Hatters, while Kaley Melville led the Hatter offense with nine kills.

The Norse will close out their first season as an NCAA Division I program on Saturday evening against Florida Gulf Coast.  First serve is set for 7 p.m.