Photo gallery |
Box score
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Lauren Ford posted 20 kills, including five in a thrilling fifth set, leading Lipscomb University to a 3-2 (16-25, 25-15, 23-25, 26-24, 15-13) victory over Northern Kentucky University in Tuesday's Atlantic Sun Conference volleyball opener in Regents Hall.
Jenna Ruble led the Norse (12-2, 0-1 A-Sun) with 15 kills and was one of three players to post double-digit kills for NKU.
Shelby Buschur added 13 kills and now stands at 990 on her career. Buschur is aiming to become the 16th member of NKU's 1,000-kills club, and the third to reach the milestone in the last two years.
Haley Lippert added 11 kills, while
Jayden Julian just missed a double-double, recording nine kills and 12 digs.
Kylee Tarantino had a season-high 28 digs to pace the Norse defense.
Jenna Schreiver, who had 47 assists to drive the Norse offense, praised the raucous crowd in Regents Hall after the match, saying, “I was really excited that all the fans came out and supported us. While we lost, I hope they all had fun and I hope they come back out this weekend and our other home matches.”
Despite the disappointment over the loss, head coach
Liz Hart saw the result as a building block for NKU as the team enters its inaugural A-Sun schedule.
“That was a great match. Lipscomb is a phenomenal team,” Hart said. “I thought we played really well, they played really well. Unfortunately, it's not the outcome we wanted but it was a great match. I think we did well for our first conference game in the Atlantic Sun.”
Ford had 10 digs to go with her 20 kills for the Lady Bisons (4-8, 1-0 A-Sun). Kaycee Green chipped in 17 kills and Jewell Dobson added 16 to drive the Lipscomb offense.
The Norse set the tone for Set 1 with an early 12-3 run to race out to a 15-8 lead, paced by five kills from
Kelly Morrissey. The Norse hit an astronomical .429 on the set and combined for four blocks in cruising to a 25-16 win.
Any thoughts that Lipscomb was down for the count went out the window in Set 2, however, as the Lady Bisons put together an 11-3 run of their own to roll to a 25-15 set victory and level the match at 1-1.
Ruble had six kills and Buschur added five as NKU scratched out a 25-23 win in Set 3. The Norse held a tenuous 20-16 lead late in the set before the Lady Bisons strung a 5-1 run together to tie the match at 21-21. Ruble again came through late in a set for the Norse, picking up three of the team's final four points on kills.
After Lipscomb's 26-24 win in Set 4, the Norse raced out to a 7-2 lead in Set 5 thanks to a combined five kills from Buschur and Julian. Lipscomb's answer came in the way of a 10-4 run of their own, punctuated by a Kaycee Green solo block for match point in a 15-13 win.
NKU continues its three-match home stand on Friday, hosting North Florida for an A-Sun match. First serve is set for 7 p.m. The home weekend will conclude on Saturday afternoon with a match against Jacksonville, starting at 3 p.m.
