HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team, with the decisive 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-17) victory over Kennesaw State on Friday night at Regents Hall, clinched a berth to its first-ever Atlantic Sun Conference Championship.
 
"Keely [Creamer] is so athletic and able to do so many things well," said NKU head coach Liz Hart. "She did a great job terminating the ball off of a variety of sets."
 
Creamer led the Norse (17-10 overall, 6-7 A-Sun) with 13 kills and a .647 hitting percentage as well as three blocks. Lauren Hurley added 11 digs and two service aces, while Jayden Julian contributed eight kills, two blocks and five digs.
 
"It's so exciting to know we are officially in," said Creamer. "Everyone can't believe it. There are no words to truly describe the feeling."
 
As a team, the Norse hit .261 on the match, whereas the visiting Owls hit .091 on the night. NKU was able to contain KSU's Kelly Marcinek, a leader in kills in the league, holding her to only seven on a .143 hitting percentage.
 
"Big plays, big kills. We kept it going," added Julian. "We knew we couldn't get stuck in a rut or else Kennesaw would make a run."
 

Early on in Set 1, NKU was able to capitalize on poor ball control and overpasses by the Owls, due in part to the Norse's serve game. The Norse did not pile up aces, but they did put Kennesaw State out of system. The fast-paced offense by NKU helped the Norse to break out on to a 12-3 run to end the set. The Norse hit an astounding .524 with Creamer leading the way with four kills, hitting a perfect 1.000. Jenna Ruble also got to 300 career blocks with her first of two on the match.
 
Creamer came out strong to start the second set with two hard kills, opening the blocks to help Drew Hendricks get two kills of her own off an open net. The two teams battled back and forth until the Norse began to break away in the middle of the set on a 7-1 run. Kennesaw State then turned it around shortly after, going on a 6-0 run and tying the game at 21 apiece. A hustle play by the Norse followed by a major block by Ruble and Tristen Simpson created a momentum shift that helped lead them to victory. Simpson led the way on a final 4-0 run, where she had two kills and a block in those points.
 
Solid serving by Taylor Snyder helped the Norse pull out to an early 10-4 lead in Set 3. When NKU seemed to be pulling away, the lead was cut to 17-14 due to a 4-0 run by Kennesaw State before a rare kill by Hurley stopped the run. A strong defensive presence, led by Mel Stewart with six of her team-best 12 digs in this set, pushed the Norse late and kills by Creamer and Hendricks finished off the match with a 25-17 win.
 
The Norse will take on USC Upstate on Saturday for Senior Day. First serve is set for 3 p.m. The Norse will honor their seniors, Ruble, Megan Wanstrath and Kiersten Ham, in a pre-match ceremony. NKU is playing to improve its seeding for the A-Sun Championship, which will begin on Nov. 20 in Fort Myers, Florida.