MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team got another double-figure kill performance from Keely Creamer, but came up short in Horizon League action against Milwaukee, falling in straight sets.
 
Creamer led the Norse (6-10, 1-3 Horizon) with 10 kills while freshman Kelly Turner added nine kills on a .350 hitting percentage and Haley Libs chipped in eight. Mel Stewart led the way defensively with 13 digs.
 
Maggie Dunbar and Maddie Williams paced the Panthers (5-12, 3-2 Horizon) with 11 kills each. Kayla Price dished out 28 assists and added five kills of her own, while Mykie Olsen and Maddie Schmitz each had nine digs on the afternoon.
 
Set 1 saw the Norse take an early 6-1 advantage on the strength of a pair of Creamer kills. However, the Panthers responded, scoring 12 of the final 16 points of the set to take a 25-17 win in the opener. Again in Set 2, NKU took the early lead, this time 7-4, before Milwaukee claimed seven of the next eight points to swing the score to an 11-8 Panthers lead. Milwaukee continued to push points and maintain the advantage, taking a 25-20 set win to go up 2-0 heading into the intermission.
 
Another long run for the Panthers set the stage for Set 3, as Milwaukee used an 8-1 stretch to push to a 15-5 advantage that the team would not relinquish. NKU responded by claiming the next six points in a row, keyed by a block and a kill from Drew Hendricks, but the Norse would get no closer than four points the rest of the way as Milwaukee completed the sweep with a 25-15 set win.
 
NKU closes out the three-game Horizon League road trip on Tuesday with midweek action at Wright State. First serve from McLin Gymnaisum is set for 7 p.m., with the match set to be broadcast on ESPN3. NKU returns home on Friday for the first of three in Regents Hall, taking on Youngstown State for a 7 p.m. start.
 
To keep up with NKU volleyball around-the-clock, follow @NKUNorseVB on Twitter and Instagram and like Northern Kentucky University Volleyball on Facebook.
 
NORSE NOTES

• Saturday's meeting was the first between the Norse and the Panthers. They will renew the rivalry on Friday, Oct. 30, in Regents Hall.
• Saturday's match was just the second this season in which the Norse failed to record a service ace. The Norse are averaging 1.1 service aces per set on the season.
• The Norse hit .075 in the match, their lowest hitting percentage as a team this season.