Weekend notes (PDF) | Tournament Central

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team begins the home half of the 2014 schedule in style, welcoming in Samford, Southern Illinois Edwardsville and Eastern Michigan for the Northern Kentucky Volleyball Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
 
The Norse will take on Samford at 7 p.m. on Friday, when fans are encouraged to Gold Rush Regents. The first 100 students in attendance on Friday evening will receive a gold NKU bandana. On Saturday, NKU will take on SIU Edwardsville at 12:30 p.m. before wrapping up tournament play against Eastern Michigan at 6:30 p.m. Saturday is Camper Reunion Day, and fans attending Saturday's matches will receive a 2014 NKU Volleyball schedule poster.
 
A full tournament schedule, as well as links to live stats for all matches and video for NKU's matches, can be found at NKUNorse.com. Fans can also follow all the action on Twitter by following @NKUNorseGameDay.
 
NKU has dropped just one set on the season as the Norse enter the weekend with a 3-0 record. NKU extended the season-opening winning streak with a 3-0 win over Wright State on Tuesday. Jayden Julian had 15 kills and attacked at a .481 clip, while Megan Wanstrath added 11 kills and Mel Stewart notched 10 digs.
 
A WORD ABOUT SAMFORD: The Bulldogs enter the weekend with a 2-1 record after notching wins over Georgia State and Jacksonville State at the Samford/UAB Invitational, the lone loss coming against No. 16 Michigan State. Michaela Reesor leads the attack, averaging almost four kills per set, while T.J. Russell's.385 hitting percentage and Gabbi Greenwald's.314 are the team's most efficient swingers.  Erika Pifer averages over 11 assists per set to direct the offense, while defensively Chelsi Carter is picking up almost five digs per set. Friday's match will be the first meeting between NKU and Samford.
 
A WORD ABOUT SIU EDWARDSVILLE: The Cougars are 2-2 on the year, having closed out the final day of the Falcon Classic with wins over Winthrop and the host Air Force Academy. Kristen Torre's 50 kills, 13 blocks and .363 attack percentage set the pace up front, while Taylor Held and Ashley Witt also average better than two kills per set. Mallory Mangun is averaging 8.88 assists per set to guide the offense. Chelsea Colclasure has 49 digs to anchor the back row.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST THE COUGARS: SIUE saw a triple-double from Mallory Clements as the Cougars recorded a straight-set victory over NKU, 30-19, 30-26, 30-18, to eliminate the Norse in the first round of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 15, 2007. Clements finished with 41 assists, 10 kills and 10 digs as Liz Hart (nee Holmes), in her final match wearing the Black and Gold, led the Norse with 10 kills and added 10 digs. With the loss, NKU's lead in the all-time series fell to 14-7.
 
A WORD ABOUT EASTERN MICHIGAN: The Eagles are 2-1 on the season, defeating Marshall and Illinois-Chicago at the Thunder Invitational last weekend. EMU's only loss in the tournament came to Atlantic Coast Conference power Virginia, 3-1.  Offensively, Katie Krasowski and Stacey Perinar each have 38 kills on the season, with Krasowski setting the team high with a .273 hitting percentage. Perinar has also come up defensively with 53 digs, ranking second on the team to libero Corynne Smith, who has 55 digs. Jill Briner will perform the setting duties for the Eagles, averaging 7.71 assists per set.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST THE EAGLES: NKU took the victory in the only previous meeting against Eastern Michigan back on Oct. 4, 1980. The Norse came back to post a 9-15, 15-10, 15-11 win on the road as a part of a tournament that saw NKU go 5-1, also defeating Bowling Green, DePaul, Illinois-Chicago and Michigan. NKU finished the 1980 season with a 35-16 record.
 
JULIAN SHINES: Jayden Julian had a banner day against Wright State, racking up 15 kills in the three-set victory. The junior outside hitter now has 36 kills on the season to lead the Norse. Additionally, she has picked up 26 digs to rank second on the team.
 
CREAMER CRACKS BACK: Sophomore middle hitter Keely Creamer has taken over the team lead with eight blocks across 10 sets on the young season after picking up a team-best four blocks in the win over Wright State. Last year, Creamer totaled 91 blocks for an average of 0.72 blocks per set.
 
SERVING UP A STORM: Lauren Hurley remains the Atlantic Sun Conference's most dangerous setter entering the weekend play, posting a league-high average of 0.70 service aces per set. Freshman defensive specialist McKenzie Eskridge also ranks highly in the league at 0.50 service aces per set.
 
EFFECTIVE EFFICIENCY: Jayden Julian's efficient attacking on Tuesday has vaulted her up the conference rankings for hitting percentage. Entering the weekend, Julian's .338 attack percentage ranks fourth among A-Sun hitters. Additionally, Jenna Ruble continues her dominating efficiency, posting a .382 hitting percentage that ranks second in the league.