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DAYTON, Ohio –
Kelly Morrissey had 14 kills and
Jenna Schreiver added 41 assists to lead the Northern Kentucky University volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-19, 30-28, 25-22) victory over Wright State on Tuesday night.
Jayden Julian added a season-high 11 kills and
Shelby Buschur had 11 as well, while
Kylee Tarantino continued her march up the career digs list, passing Amber Timmons for sixth all-time with 11 digs on the evening.
Haley Lippert had seven kills as well, and
Jenna Ruble chipped in six and led the team with four blocks, equaling her season high.
“While we're in our period of transition it's hard to know where we stand with our opponents, so this really helped our confidence.” said head coach
Liz Hart, who has led the Norse to a 4-0 record to open NKU's inaugural season as a member of NCAA Division I.
NKU was strong in Set 1, using a pair of four-point rallies to post a 25-19 win to set the early tone. Morrissey set the pace with six kills against a strong Raider defense that held the Norse to a .200 hitting percentage on the set.
Wright State (0-4) picked up the pace in Set 2, opening up a 7-2 run late to gain the advantage. The Norse stayed in the mix, however, and survived three set points to tie things up at 24-24. After the teams traded points to 28-28,
Jayden Julian came up with a pair of big kills to give the Norse the edge going into intermission, 30-28.
“The second [set] we were up a little bit and made a few unforced errors, but we fought our way through it,” said Morrissey of the team's effort. “We came together as a team and made a decision we weren't going to give up on it.”
“Jayden's done a really nice job for us, it was nice to see her step up like that, especially being a freshman, to step up and take swings like that,” added Hart. “The more she plays, the better she's going to do.”
Set 3 featured more back-and-forth volleyball, as the teams matched each other point for point at 18-18 until a 5-1 run, keyed by a kill and a block from
Jenna Ruble, pushed the Norse out to a lead that they would not relinquish.
The Norse continue play this weekend at the Comfort Inn and Suites Invitational, hosted by Morehead State. NKU will take on the hosts, as well as Alabama A&M and Evansville in the two-day event.
Morrissey is pleased with the start, but knows the team is hungry for more. “It's great for our confidence. It's given us a little taste of what Division I is like, but we can't just be happy with 4-0. We have a lot of season left to play.”
