HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky volleyball returns to the friendly confines of Regents Hall for a mid-week tilt with the Youngstown State Penguins. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 12.
 
NORSE HOST FREE CLINIC: Following Saturday's match against UIC on Oct. 15, the NKU volleyball team will be hosting a free volleyball clinic for girls ages 5-13. Get an exclusive chance to interact with the players, learn drills and get autographs. Registration must be completed by Oct. 12 to participate, and space is limited. All participants will receive free admission to the match against UIC. For more information or to register, email trammellj2@nku.edu.
 
LAST TIME OUT: NKU rolled through the weekend with sweeps over Valparaiso (25-12, 25-22, 25-18) and Wright State (25-18, 25-22, 26-24). Senior middle hitter Keely Creamer was the story of the night against the Crusaders, tying her career high with 19 kills at a career-best .750 hitting percentage. Her 19 kills are the most by a Norse in a three-set match in the Division I era, while her hitting percentage broke the record for individual single-match hitting since NKU moved to D-I in 2012 and is the highest by a Norse since 2008. The team also broke the D-I-era record for single-match hitting percentage at .402. Defensively, redshirt-senior libero Lauren Hurley was a rock for the Norse, picking up 23 digs in both matches. Prior to the match against Valpo, Hurley's best dig count in a three-set match was 16 digs.
 
NORSE SWEEP WEEKLY HONORS: After contributing heavily to NKU's sweeps over Valparaiso and Wright State, senior middle hitter Keely Creamer was named the Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week, while redshirt-senior libero Lauren Hurley earned defensive honors. Creamer averaged 4.83 kills per set at a .481 clip and Hurley had an average of 7.66 digs per set.
 
RED HOT NORSE: With the pair of sweeps last weekend coupled with a sweep of Oakland on Oct. 1, the only League loss of the season for the Golden Grizzlies, the Norse have swept three straight opponents heading into Wednesday's match. It marks the first time since Aug. 30-Sept. 5, 2014, that NKU has taken down three straight teams in three sets, and it is also the first time since joining the ranks of Division I that NKU has swept three straight conference foes. The last time that NKU had three or more sweeps against conference teams was in 2011, when the Norse went on a run of five consecutive sweeps that included wins over Great Lakes Valley Conference foes Drury, Missouri S&T, William Jewel and Rockhurst.
 
SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE: The Penguins have gone 7-13 this season and have posted just one win in Horizon League action with an overall League record of 1-5. The lone win was against Valparaiso on Sept. 30, when Youngstown State came out on top of a five-set decision to snap a five-match losing skid. YSU most recently traveled to Green Bay and Milwaukee, falling in four sets to both Badger State foes.
  
The Penguins are led by Lori Vanbeek in the middle, who ranks in the top-10 in the League in both kills per set (3.36) and hitting percentage (.295). As a team, the Penguins rank near the bottom of the League in all categories except for serving and blocking. YSU is the League's top serving team in League-only matches with 1.67 aces per set, ranking second in all matches. The Penguins were not a blocking force during the preseason, but have since began averaging 2.50 blocks per set led by the middle tandem of Vanbeek and Sarah Varcolla.
  
The series history with Youngstown State began last year, with NKU holding a 2-0 edge. The Norse swept the Penguins at Regents Hall on Oct. 9, but battled back from being down 2-0 in Youngstown to grind out a five-set win (14-25, 21-25, 26-24, 25-15, 15-8).
 
SENIOR STANDOUTS: The quartet that makes up the Norse seniors is certainly making the most of its final season donning the Gold and Black. The most drastic improvement is from redshirt-senior Lauren Hurley, who stepped into the libero role for 2016. As a defensive specialist, Hurley averaged 2.12 digs per set in her first three years at NKU. This season, she is one of the League's top defenders with 4.79 digs per set, and has twice been named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week.
  
Middle hitter Keely Creamer became the 18th member of the 1,000 kill club this season and currently leads the team with 2.97 kills per set for her highest average of her career. Creamer is also climbing up the ranks of the record books in block assists, currently sitting at fifth all-time with 285.
  
On the left pin, Tristen Simpson is having her most productive season, averaging 2.54 kills per set after putting up an average of 1.95 through her first three seasons.
  
Setter Taylor Snyder continues to lead the offense and is posting similar numbers in assists per set as years past at 10.27/set, but has become more aggressive individually on the offensive end. Snyder is averaging 1.20 kills per set in her final season as a Norse, compared to averaging just over half a kill per set in her first three seasons. Even more impressive is that she's doing so at a .471 clip.
 
MILESTONE CLUBS GET NEW MEMBERS: Keely Creamer was presented with a commemorative ball prior to the Cleveland State match in honor of recording her 1,000th career kill. Going into the Butler Invitational, Creamer needed just nine kills to reach the mark. She accomplished the feat with her third kill against Pac-12 opponent Arizona.
           
On Oct. 9, Taylor Snyder surpassed 4,000 career assists. She is the fourth Norse all-time and the first solely in the Division I era to hit the 4,000-assist mark. She is also just 10 digs shy of hitting 1,000 digs. Reaching that would make her just the second NKU setter to record at least 4,000 assists and 1,000 digs after Molly Donovan dished out 4,971 assists and had 1,005 digs between 1995-98.