HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team came just short of completing their second five-set comeback in as many Atlantic Sun Conference matches as Florida Gulf Coast escaped Regents Hall with a 3-2 win.
 
Four of the five sets were decided by two points with set scores of 24-26, 23-25, 25-23, 25-15, 13-15. With the loss, NKU falls to 15-8 and 4-5 in A-Sun play. The Norse will look to rebound tomorrow when they host Stetson for a 1 p.m. matinee. Links to live stats and the ASun.TV broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com.
 
Keely Creamer knocked down a career-high 19 kills and hit at a .417 clip to lead the Norse offensively. Tristen Simpson added 16 kills and four blocks, while Jayden Julian (11 kills, 15 digs) and Taylor Snyder (52 assists, 12 digs) each posted double-doubles. Lauren Hurley had 11 digs and a pair of service aces.
 
Eleonora Kazarian had 25 kills and 13 digs to lead FGCU (15-8, 8-1 A-Sun), while Jessica Barnes chipped in 15 kills. Gigi Meyer had 58 assists, and Whitney Masters picked up a match-high 23 digs.
 
"It's tough to lose three sets by two points. I wish it would have gone the other way," said head coach Liz Hart following the match. "We played really well tonight, and we'll need to play really well again tomorrow night against Stetson."
 

The Norse struggled to find themselves in the opening points of the match as FGCU raced out to a 7-2 lead, punctuated by a pair of service aces. The lead extended to eight before the Norse fought back, scoring six straight to claw back in the match. McKenzie Eskridge picked up NKU's first ace of the night, followed by a block from Simpson and Ruble to tie the set at 20-20. The teams traded points to 24-24 before the Eagles were able to rally the final two points to take the set.
 
Neither team had larger than a three-point lead in Set 2, that coming when the Norse started out with a 7-4 advantage. The Norse benefitted from five FGCU service errors, keeping things close, but a late 4-1 rally gave FGCU set point at 24-22, and back-to-back side outs ended the set in favor of the Eagles.
 
The Norse found their hitting game in Set 3, attacking at a .345 clip in a 25-23 win. After FGCU went ahead 22-20, the Norse took five of the final six points of the set to keep the match going with a 25-23 win. Creamer picked up five kills in the set on six attempts. She would add six more in the fourth set as an 11-2 run in the middle stages of the set pushed the Norse to a commanding 25-15 win and set the stage.
 
NKU raced out to a 6-3 lead in Set 5, taking advantage of aggressive service from Snyder and Julian. The Eagles surged back after a timeout, taking four of the next five points to level the score at 7-7.  The teams traded points to 9-9 before back-to-back kills from Kazarian and Mackenzie Allen capped a 4-1 run that gave FGCU the cushion it needed to hold on for a 15-13 win.