Box score
CINCINNATI –
Jenna Ruble had 15 kills on a .344 hitting percentage to lead the Northern Kentucky University volleyball team to a 3-2 (25-19,13-25,25-15,22-25,15-8) win over Navy at the University of Cincinnati Invitational on Friday.
Tristen Simpson added 14 kills and
Keely Creamer had nine kills to go with a team-high six total blocks for the Norse, who improved to 3-4 on the season.
Anna Prickel paced the defensive effort with 17 digs while
Taylor Snyder picked up her fourth double-double of the season with 46 assists and 12 digs. Navy dropped to 3-6 with the loss.
NKU had to stave off a 5-0 Navy run in Set 1 to hold on for a 25-19 win. Back-to-back solo blocks by Katie Sylakowski and Erin Fortner forced a late timeout for the Norse, who took the set on a
Tristen Simpson kill, one of her seven on the set. NKU raced out to a 9-3 advantage on the efforts of
Keely Creamer, who totaled three kills and a block in the early rally.
A lapse in the NKU passing game allowed the Mids to take Set 2, 25-13. Navy got three blocks and three service aces in the set, while Erin Fortner got three of her match-high 18 kills for the Midshipmen in the set.
"We came out really strong in the first set, everything was clicking. Offensively, we hit over .400 so that was really good," said head coach
Liz Hart. "We did not show up in the second set, we just couldn't pass the ball, but it was good that we rebounded for the following sets and finished it off in the fifth."
The Norse were forced to redouble their defensive efforts quickly after intermission as Navy shot out to a quick 4-1 lead in Set 3. The Norse pulled right back on a kill and a block from Ruble before jumping out to an 11-8 lead that the Norse would not relinquish. NKU finished off the set with a 7-0 run to take a 25-15 win.
"They were beating us defensively after the second set, so we made a goal to get more digs," added Hart. "If we can get our digs going then our defense runs our offense. It's really important for us this year."
The Midshipmen weren't done, however, as the teams battled point-for-point in Set 4 before Navy rolled a 6-2 run to close out the set with a 25-22 victory and push NKU to a fifth set in back-to-back matches for the first time since 2008.
"We got off to a 5-0 start [in the fifth set], and we beat them to eight again, which we did to Miami (last weekend), but then able to finish in the end," said Hart of the match's deciding set. "We got stuck on 13 for maybe two points, but after that we were able to side out and get going."
Kaela Jo Freppon served the Norse to a 6-0 lead before the Midshipmen got on the board on a service error. As they had all night, however, Navy stayed in stride, and back-to-back service aces for the Midshipmen forced a Norse timeout at 7-5. Another big NKU run, this time 6-1, pushed the Norse out to 13-6 and consecutive missed attacks by the Midshipmen sealed the Norse victory.
"I have a feeling we're going to see a lot of tight matches this year," said Hart. "Usually we dig ourselves holes, last weekend we were digging ourselves holes, but today we didn't."
NKU closes out the UC Invitational on Saturday with a pair of matches. The Norse will take on the host Cincinnati at 2 p.m., then will battle Cleveland State in the nightcap with a first serve set for 7 p.m.
