Box score
CULLOWHEE, N.C. –
Shelby Buschur and
Kelly Morrissey combined for 21 kills to lead the Northern Kentucky University volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-15, 22-25, 25-12, 25-19) victory over North Carolina A&T to sweep the WCU Invitational, hosted by Western Carolina.
NKU improves to 3-0 on the young season, the team's first as a part of NCAA Division I. The Norse become the first institution to open with three wins in its first Division I transitional season since North Dakota won its first four matches in 2009, defeating UMKC, Indiana State, SIU Edwardsville and Akron.
"We definitely have some work to do, especially with the quick turnaround against Wright State on Tuesday," said
Liz Hart of her team's performance. "Overall it was a very good tournament for us; it was a good weekend to build our confidence and prove we can do what we need to do."
Morrissey led the Norse attack with 11 kills while Buschur added 10.
Jenna Ruble was another big key to the offense, picking up nine kills while attacking at a .615 clip. The Norse combined for eight service aces on the match, led by Buschur, who had three on the afternoon.
Defensively the Norse were led by
Kylee Tarantino, who had 16 digs to pass NKU head coach
Liz Hart for eighth all-time in digs with 1,201. Freshman defensive specialist
Mel Stewart added 10 digs of her own.
For her efforts on the weekend,
Haley Lippert was named the WCU Invitational Most Valuable Player, racking up 37 kills over the three matches for an average of 3.36 kills per set.
Jenna Schreiver, who had 39 assists in Saturday's win, was also named to the all-tournament team, averaging 11.82 assists per set on the weekend.
"Haley was outstanding this weekend on the outside for us," added Hart. "It's great Jenna was honored as well. All of our offense flows through her, and she did a great job distributing and directing this team."
The Norse were dominant against the Aggies (1-1) in Set 1, stringing together a 13-4 run in the midpoint to run away with the set, 25-15. Lippert had four kills in the set and Tarantino added seven digs to help hold A&T to an .034 hitting percentage on the set.
Errors began to creep into the NKU attack in Set 2, as the Norse hit just .065 on the set and gave away four of A&T's final six points on attack errors to take a 25-22 edge.
Ruble made her presence felt in the third stanza, picking up three kills and a block in NKU's 8-2 run to start the set as the Norse cruised to a 25-12 set victory. As a team the Norse attacked at a .480 clip in the set.
The Norse continued their offensive efficiency in Set 4, hitting an even .400 in a 25-19 deciding set. NKU took four of the set's final six points thanks in part by service aces from Morrissey and
Jayden Julian, who added eight kills and six digs to the team totals.
