NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Megan Wanstrath had a monster day for the Northern Kentucky University volleyball team, racking up 19 kills and attacking at a .429 clip to lead the Norse to wins over Belmont and Wright State to sweep the Bruin Classic.
 
Wanstrath had eight kills and three blocks in the straight-set victory over Belmont, with the Norse winning by set scores of 25-19, 25-18 and 25-21. She came back to post a team high 11 kills and four blocks in the 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-19) win over Wright State.
 
Keely Creamer and Jenna Ruble each had 18 kills on the day as well, with Creamer adding nine blocks across the two matches. With the wins, NKU improved to 10-3 on the season and were crowned champions of the Bruin Classic.
 
Wanstrath, Creamer and Taylor Snyder were each named to the Bruin Classic All-Tournament team, while Wanstrath was additionally honored as the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
 
In the opening win against Belmont, Creamer's 10 kills led the Norse to go with Wanstrath and Ruble, who put down eight kills each. Mel Stewart and McKenzie Eskridge each posted 13 digs defensively while Snyder dished out 35 assists. NKU's solid defense held the Bruins (4-8) to an .050 attack percentage on the match.
 
Jocelyn Youngdahl led Belmont offensively with eight kills, while Brie Lewis added seven kills. Emma Price added 26 assists on the match. Ellie Ivancich had a match-high 15 digs as well.
 
After the Bruins opened the match on a 4-1 run, NKU responded definitively, picking up 12 of the next 14 points in the opening set to race out to a 13-6 lead. Belmont continued to scrap, pulling the match within one at 17-16 after responding with a 10-4 run of their own. Strong serving kept the Bruins out of system, though, and the Norse went on to a 25-19 set win.
 
Back-to-back blocks on Arianna Person attacks in Set 2 capped a 5-1 run for the Norse, giving NKU a 10-6 lead. The Norse continued to apply pressure, pushing the lead as high as nine points as they went on to a 25-18 set victory. The Norse posted five blocks in the set as well.
 
NKU again pushed points early in Set 3, running the score to 11-6 before the Bruins got on a run of their own, taking a 13-12 lead on the strength of a 7-1 run. A pair of NKU attack errors helped Belmont take a two-point lead at 16-14 before the Norse stormed back, taking five straight points on the service of Lauren Hurley as Tristen Simpson, Jayden Julian and Jenna Ruble posted consecutive kills. Belmont came back to tie the score at 20-20, but NKU stood strong, taking five of the last six points, including two kills from Wanstrath to seal the match.
 
In additional to Wanstrath's team-leading effort against Wright State, Ruble had 10 kills and also hit over .400 on the match. Creamer chipped in with eight kills and four blocks while Stewart owned the back row, posting 24 digs. Snyder kept pace with 37 assists and nine digs on the match.
 
Katie Klusman led the Raiders (3-11) with 11 kills on the match while Megan Hopkins had eight. Jessie Thornton posted 19 digs and Maddie Lohmeier set 31 assists.
 
After a 5-2 start in Set 1, the Norse rolled to a 25-18 win in Set 1. Wanstrath took six kills in the set to lead the Norse attack.  In Set 2, Stewart was the defensive star with 11 digs while the Norse hit .361 as a team to take a 25-19 set victory.  Ruble picked up her game in Set 3, taking six kills of her own in a 25-19 match-deciding set.
 
The Norse now turn their attention to Atlantic Sun Conference play, returning to Nashville next weekend to take on league favorite Lipscomb. First serve is set for 7:30 p.m. Eastern and will be broadcast on ESPN3. For the latest in NKU volleyball news, follow the Norse on social media, @NKUNorseVBall on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.