HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team will seek its first Atlantic Sun Conference victory this weekend when the Norse host North Florida and Jacksonville in league matches at Regents Hall.
NKU (12-2, 0-1 A-Sun) will battle North Florida (8-4, 0-0 A-Sun) on Friday night at 7 p.m., while Jacksonville (2-11, 0-0 A-Sun) travels to NKU for a Saturday matinee. Live stats and video will be available at nkunorse.com.
The Norse lost a thriller to Lipscomb in their A-Sun opener, 3-2. After the first two sets went decidedly to each team, each of the final three sets were decided by two points.
Jenna Ruble lead the Norse with 15 kills, while
Shelby Buschur chipped in 13 kills and nine digs.
Jenna Schreiver added her second double-double of the year with 47 assists and 10 digs and
Kylee Tarantino had a season-high 28 digs defensively.
North Florida is currently the hottest team in the A-Sun, as the Ospreys are winners of seven straight. North Florida ranked sixth in the Sept. 18 NCAA Statistical rankings, averaging 18.44 digs per set. The Ospreys' senior setter, Nicole Baran, ranked third in the nation in digs (5.91/set) along with Dagnija Medina, who placed 11th (.53/set) in service aces.
Jacksonville will look to turn around its slow start to the year which has included tough non-conference matches against North Carolina State and Florida. Sammie Strausbaugh leads the Dolphins offense, boasting 127 kills on the season. Kendall Courtney, with 401 assists on the year, will direct traffic for the Dolphins.
A DIME FOR DESTINY: Shelby Buschur needs just 10 kills to become the 16
th member of NKU's 1,000-kill club. Buschur would become the third Norse player to reach the milestone in the last two years, as
Noelle Peterson and
Sarah Drennen each picked up their 1,000
th kill in 2011.
HOME HELP: The raucous Regents Hall crowd has been a definite benefit to the Norse over the years, and that trend has not changed with the change at the helm. NKU boasts a 14-3 home record under head coach
Liz Hart, who took over coaching duties during the 2010 season.
ACE IN THE HOLE: NKU continues to rank among the top teams in the nation for service aces. NKU is averaging 1.86 aces per set, which would rank the Norse fifth in the nation in that category. As a reclassifying institution, NKU is not included in the national statistics rankings. Individually,
Jenna Schreiver's six-ace match against Manhattan ranks as the best among A-Sun teams, while
Jayden Julian's five aces against Holy Cross is the most for an A-Sun server in a three-set match.
