HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team returns to the road for a pair of Atlantic Sun Conference matches this weekend. The Norse will travel to face Kennesaw State on Friday evening before taking on South Carolina Upstate in a Saturday matinee.
Friday's match at Kennesaw State, set for a 7 p.m. start, will be broadcast over ESPN3, while Saturday's action at USC Upstate will be carried on ASun.TV at 3 p.m. Links to these broadcasts and to live stats will be available at NKUNorse.com.
The Norse stand at 10-4 on the season after dropping their A-Sun opener on Friday at Lipscomb. NKU took Set 1, 25-21, before the Lady Bisons took the final three sets, including a 31-29 win in Set 3.
Megan Wanstrath continued her offensive outpouring with a team-best 13 kills, while
Tristen Simpson added 11 kills and
Keely Creamer chipped in 10 kills and seven blocks.
Taylor Snyder dished out 41 assists and had a match-high 17 digs for her seventh double-double of the year.
A WORD ABOUT KENNESAW STATE: The Owls are looking to improve to .500 on the season, standing at 7-8 after defeating USC Upstate to open A-Sun play last weekend. Kelly Marcinek, the 2013 A-Sun Freshman of the Year, is continuing her dominant play in her sophomore campaign, ranking fourth in the league in kills per set at 3.32. Freshman setter Kristi Piedimonte is averaging 8.30 assists per set to direct the offense. Katarina Morton ranks third in the A-Sun defensively, averaging 4.23 digs per set, while Megan McGuinness has compiled 29 blocks to lead the Owls in the category.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE OWLS: Marcinek posted 22 kills and 14 digs to lead KSU to a 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 19-25, 25-17) win over NKU on Nov. 2, 2013, at Kennesaw State to even out the season series between the teams.
Jayden Julian had 13 kills to lead the Norse, while
Tristen Simpson added 10 kills.
Anna Prickel led the Norse with 15 digs. The loss mirrored a five-set victory for the Norse earlier in the season. The loss was the only one for the Norse in four all-time meetings against Kennesaw State.
A WORD ABOUT USC UPSTATE: The Spartans are a game over .500 at 9-8 after falling in straight sets to Winthrop in mid-week action, and sport an 0-1 record in league play. Kayla Eversgerd and Kayla McAvoy lead the Spartan attack, posting 166 and 162 kills, respectively, to each rank in the top 10 in kills among A-Sun players. Lexi Gober is averaging 9.62 assists per set while ranking 12
th nationally in service aces with 28. The Spartans are solid defensively, ranking 15
th nationally in digs per set as a team and ninth in total digs, led by Kaleigh Kelley, who averages almost four digs per set.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE SPARTANS: The Norse put four players in double-digits for kills to post a come-from-behind 3-1 (15-25, 25-17, 25-12, 25-21) win over USC Upstate on Nov. 8, 2013, to complete the season sweep. Julian led the Norse with 13 kills and 12 digs. Simpson added 12,
Jenna Ruble had 11 and Wanstrath picked up 10. Snyder drove the Norse offense with 49 assists as well. The win kept the Norse perfect against the Spartans all-time in four meetings.
BEST ON THE BLOCK:
Keely Creamer continues to lead the A-Sun in blocking, a feat no NKU player has been able to claim since NKU made the jump to Division I. Creamer's 0.98 blocks per set stands atop the conference, while her 50 total blocks sits second. Last season, Creamer had 91 total blocks, ranking second on the team.
NORSE IN THE A-SUN: NKU has put up some impressive numbers within the league. As a team, NKU's .219 hitting percentage ranks just below Jacksonville, which also displays a .219 mark, for the conference lead. NKU's 15.96 digs per set also rank second in the league, while their 1.9 blocks per set lead all A-Sun teams.
