HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team closed out an Atlantic Sun Conference weekend with a 3-0 win over Stetson on Saturday afternoon at Regents Hall.
 
Jenna Ruble led the Norse (16-8, 5-5 A-Sun) with 13 kills on a .522 hitting percentage. Keely Creamer added 10 kills and four blocks, while Drew Hendricks chipped in with four blocks as well. Mel Stewart's 17 digs led the defensive effort, and Taylor Snyder dished out 36 assists to go with nine digs.
 

"It was nice to come back and respond, especially after last night's match," said NKU head coach Liz Hart, who saw her Norse come just short of completing a five-set comeback against Florida Gulf Coast on Friday night. "They did a really good job to come back and sweep a really good team today."
 
As a team, the Norse hit .306 on the day while winning the blocking battle, 7-5.  Jessica Armstrong's nine kills topped Stetson's effort, as the Hatters fell to 14-10 overall and 5-5 in the A-Sun.
 
"I thought we served really well and kept them out of system to get a lot of block touches and help our offense flow a lot easier," added Hart. "We needed to close out our home stand going 3-1. Splitting this weekend, and going 2-1 in conference play against the top teams is very good for us, and we're looking to continue that next weekend in Jacksonville."
 
The Norse jumped out to a 7-2 lead early in Set 1 before three-straight attack errors let the Hatters back in the match. Stetson brought the deficit within one at 12-11 before NKU rattled off four of the next five points. Another 4-0 rally by the Norse, keyed by three kills from Tristen Simpson and a Stewart service ace, put NKU comfortably in front at 20-14 before the Norse shut the door on a 25-18 set win.
 
A 10-1 rally made the difference for the Norse in Set 2, as they raced out to a 16-5 lead and never looked back. Simpson picked up four more of her 10 kills on the day in the second frame as seven different Norse picked up kills in the set, including Lauren Hurley on a rare attack from the back row.
 
Stetson made some adjustments during the intermission and kept things close in the early stages of Set 3. Matching 4-0 rallies for the teams made it a 6-5 Norse edge. NKU saw its largest lead come at 22-18 before Stetson picked up five straight points to take a 23-22 lead. Jayden Julian took back service with a kill before back-to-back blocks sealed the win for the Norse, the first coming from Hendricks and Creamer, and the second on a solo effort from Simpson.
 
The Norse now take to the road for the final time during the regular season, heading south to face Jacksonville and North Florida next weekend. NKU will return home on Friday, Nov. 14, to host Kennesaw State for a 6:30 p.m. start.