HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team makes its first of three trips to the Sunshine State this season as the Norse get set to take on a pair of Atlantic Sun Conference teams.
 
The weekend opens on Friday with the Norse taking on Stetson, with first serve set for 7 p.m. NKU then travels south to take on Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday at 6 p.m. Links to live stats and video of each match are available at NKUNorse.com.
 
NKU enters the weekend as the winners of three straight after sweeping league action last weekend. The Norse came from behind to take a thrilling 3-2 victory over North Florida on Friday, and used the momentum to take a 3-0 win over Jacksonville the following afternoon.  With the results, NKU improved to 13-5 overall and 3-2 in A-Sun play.
 
A WORD ABOUT STETSON: The Hatters enter the weekend with a 12-6 record, including a 4-1 mark in the A-Sun to stand in third place in the league. The offense is paced by Madison Akins, who averages 3.25 kills per set, and the reigning A-Sun Freshman of the Week McKenna Foster, who enters the weekend at 3.20 kills per set. Kayla Weller handles the distribution, ranking third in the A-Sun at 10.65 assists per set. Shelby Conners ranks second in the league at 0.93 blocks per set, and Alexa Drost paces the back-row defense at 3.88 digs per set.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST THE HATTERS: The 2013 Norse volleyball campaign closed out with a 3-0 sweep for NKU over Stetson on Nov. 16, 2013. Jenna Ruble led the Norse offense with 15 kills on a .500 hitting percentage while Megan Wanstrath added 12 kills and Jayden Julian posted a 10 kills, nine dig outing. Taylor Snyder picked up her 19^th double-double of the 2013 season with 50 assists and 13 digs. Tiffany Creamer had 14 kills to lead Stetson. With the win, NKU increased its lead in the all-time series to 3-1.
 
A WORD ABOUT FLORIDA GULF COAST: The Eagles stand unblemished at 5-0 in A-Sun play to go with a 12-7 overall mark. Gigi Meyer stands as the top setter in the league averaging over 11 assists per set, ranking 12^th in the nation in the statistic. Olivia Mesner is both FGCU's most prolific hitter, with 247 kills, and the A-Sun's most efficient hitter, posting a .393 hitting percentage over the course of the season. Whitney Masters has posted 310 digs to lead the Eagles on the back row while Elenora Kazarian is FGCU's top blocker with 50 rejections on the year.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST THE EAGLES: Mesner and Kaitlyn Holm combined for 22 kills to lead FGCU to a 3-0 win over the Norse on Nov. 15, 2013. Ruble's 11 kills paced the Norse while Julian added eight kills and a team-best 12 digs. The Norse were held to a .105 hitting percentage on the match, which increased FGCU's lead in the all-time series to 4-1.
 
RUBLE'S RUN: Senior middle hitter Jenna Ruble continues to shine as one of the most efficient attackers in the Atlantic Sun, entering this weekend with a .327 hitting percentage to rank second among A-Sun attackers. Last weekend, Ruble led the team with 26 kills and hit at a blistering .522 pace.
 
HURLEY HOLDS THEM OFF: Lauren Hurley remains one of the strongest servers in the Atlantic Sun, picking up six service aces across two matches last weekend to increase her team-leading total to 27 service aces. The total ranks second among A-Sun servers at 0.40 service aces per set.
 
OFFENSE AND DEFENSE: Sophomore setter Taylor Snyder has been a major factor in NKU's success both offensively and defensively this season. Snyder is averaging 3.12 digs per set on the season to rank 10^th overall in the A-Sun and lead all A-Sun setters in the category. Offensively, she is posting 10.36 assists per set, ranking fourth in the category, with her passing performance leading the Norse to a conference-best .226 team hitting percentage.