HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team, as it has so many times this season, takes to the road once more this weekend, this time for Atlantic Sun Conference matches against Mercer and Kennesaw State.
NKU's match against Mercer will take place on Friday at 7 p.m., while the Norse head to Kennesaw State on Saturday for a 3 p.m. match. Links to live stats and ASun.tv coverage, as available, are posted at NKUNorse.com.
This weekend should serve to clear up a log jam at third place in the A-Sun standings, as the Norse, Bears and Owls are all knotted with 2-1 conference records entering Friday's matches. Mercer and Kennesaw State will also take on Lipscomb this weekend.
The Norse saw success in their first full week of conference play, battling three-time defending A-Sun champion Lipscomb to a 3-2 loss before picking up weekend victories over North Florida and Jacksonville, each by 3-1 scores. NKU now stands at 14-2 overall in its inaugural Division I season.
Mercer's two wins have both come at home, with the Bears besting ETSU and Stetson before dropping a decision to Florida Gulf Coast, which is one of two undefeated teams in A-Sun play. Mercer has done the job with defense so far this year, ranking second in the nation in digs per set (19.0).
Kennesaw State, conversely, sports a potent offense that ranks second in the A-Sun in hitting percentage (.216) and aces per set (1.5). Against A-Sun opposition, the Owls top the charts in kills (15.6), assists (14.9) and aces (1.7). KSU has claimed victories over USC Upstate and Stetson and fell to FGCU last weekend.
BY THE NUMBERS: NKU's offensive numbers continue to impress entering the second weekend of A-Sun play. As a reclassifying institution, NKU is not ranked among the nation's statistics leaders, but would list as a top-10 team in aces per set (1.7) and a top-20 team in kills per set (14.4)
DIGGING UP DEFENSE: Kylee Tarantino now stands fourth on the NKU career digs list with 1,409 digs in her three-plus seasons. Tarantino needs 109 digs to pass Colleen Kaufman for third all-time.
BUSCHUR MAKING HER MOVE: Shelby Buschur slammed down her 1,000
th career kill in Set 3 against North Florida en route to a season-best 22-kill performance. She became the 16th member of NKU's 1,000-kill club and the third player in the last two seasons to reach the milestone. Buschur now begins her climb up the career ranks at NKU, needing just nine kills to pass
Sarah Drennen for 15th all-time.
SETTING A NEW BAR: Jenna Schreiver is looking at a chance at history as well. The setter recently passed the 4,000-assist mark and now stands 279 assists away from passing Andrea Lanham for second all-time at NKU. The career assists record stands at 4,971, held by Molly Donovan.
