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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Senior day for the Northern Kentucky University volleyball team was a time to remember and a time to honor, just not for too long.
The Norse closed out their 2013 campaign on Saturday with a straight-set victory, defeating Stetson, 25-23, 25-21, 25-17. It marked the first time NKU put away a win in three sets this season and ended the year with a record of 12-19 overall and 7-11 in Atlantic Sun Conference play.
Senior
Anna Prickel, as she has all season long, anchored the Norse defense with a match-high 14 digs, giving her a career total of 1,248 to rank seventh on the NKU all-time list.
Kaela Jo Freppon was in double-digits for digs as well with 10 and added a single kill to her score line, but none more important, as her kill put the bow on a Norse victory.
Head coach
Liz Hart was quick to praise both senior leaders on their strong performances. "Both of them really did a nice job on serve receive, it helped us use our middles and establish them right away, and then just digging up as many balls as they can. It was really nice that Kaela Jo could end her career on a kill."
According to Freppon, that wasn't entirely by circumstance.
"I told Taylor [Snyder] to save that one for me," said Freppon after the match. "I said, 'give me some love back here for the last point!'"
It was one of 50 assists that the freshman setter dished out on the afternoon to go with 13 digs, marking her 19
th double-double of the season to rank second in the A-Sun and lead all league freshmen in the category.
"She did a good job running our offense, and that was seen in our hitting efficiency," said Hart of Snyder's game, as the Norse posted a .365 hitting percentage, their highest of the season. "And she continued to dig balls all the while. We're looking forward to seeing good things from her in the future."
Jenna Ruble led the way on the offense, posting 15 kills on a .500 hitting percentage. Ruble also notched three blocks and a service ace along the way.
Megan Wanstrath added 12 kills and
Jayden Julian finished the year with a 10 kill, nine dig outing.
Tiffany Creamer had 14 kills to lead Stetson, which finished the regular season with an 18-15 overall record and a 9-9 conference mark. Madison Akins added 11 kills for the Hatters, who stand as the No. 5 seed in next weekend's A-Sun Championship, hosted by Kennesaw State.
Things looked shaky for the Norse in Set 1, as Stetson grabbed an 8-5 lead thanks to a 5-0 run keyed by a pair of kills from Kaley Melville, who finished the day with six. The Hatters extended the lead to four points at 14-10 before NKU was able to turn the tide with an 11-4 run, highlighted by three kills from Ruble. Stetson got five straight points to pull the score back level at 23-23 before Ruble took the set over, getting a kill and a solo block for the final two points for the Norse. The junior picked up eight of her 15 kills in the opening stanza.
Set 2 saw the teams battle evenly to a 4-4 score before the Norse took over for good thanks to a 5-0 run punctuated by three kills from Julian. Stetson would come as close as one point the rest of the way, but couldn't knot the score as Wanstrath, who claimed five of her kills in the set, got the winner to put the Norse into the locker room with a 2-0 lead.
A 6-2 lead early in Set 3 gave the Norse all the cushion they needed, as the Hatters got no closer than three points from the lead the rest of the match.
Tristen Simpson came through with four of her eight kills on the set and
Keely Creamer picked up a key solo block to keep the momentum with the Norse.
