HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky volleyball continued its run of domination with a sweep of Youngstown State, 25-21, 25-14, 25-20. The Norse have now swept four consecutive opponents, including Oakland, Valparaiso and Wright State. With the victory, NKU moves to 10-8 on the season and 4-3 in Horizon League play while the Penguins drop to 7-14 (1-6 HL).
Fresh off recording her 4,000th career assist against Wright State, redshirt-senior setter
Taylor Snyder followed it up by notching her 1,000th career dig. She is just the second setter in the history of Norse volleyball to have at least 4,000 assists and 1,000 digs after Molly Donovan dished out 4,971 assists and had 1,0005 digs between 1995-1998, making her the first ever to accomplish the feat in the D-I era.
The Quote
"Serving was outstanding again for us. We did a nice job siding out quickly and Keely (Creamer) hit for a high percentage again. We're also excited that Taylor was able to get her 1,000th dig at home." –Head Coach
Liz Hart
First Set Summary
- The Norse held the Penguins to their lowest hitting percentage of the match at .103 while hitting .207 in the opening set.
- NKU's offense was run through its middles, with senior Keely Creamer continuing her hot hitting, posting five kills on six attempts while junior Georgia Childers had four kills on six attempts.
- In the back row, Lauren Hurley racked up five digs.
Second Set Summary
- Creamer matched her strongest set of the season with seven kills on seven swings to lead the Norse in the second set, adding a block assist to her stat line.
- The defensive effort was balanced with Hurley leading the way with five digs, while Snyder and sophomore outside hitter Haley Libs added three each.
- The Penguins hit .281 but were no match for the Norse swinging away at a .517 clip with just two miscues.
Third Set Summary
- Creamer added four more kills to wrap up the match in the third set, in which the Norse out-hit the Penguins .294-.270.
- Hurley added six digs, while Libs and Snyder each had five.
Norse Notes
- The four sweeps mark the longest streak of three-set wins in the Division I era for the Norse. The last time it happened was in the 2011 season, when NKU went on a streak of five straight sweeps that included Great Lakes Valley Conference opponents Drury, Missouri S&T, William Jewel and Rockhurst. That was also the last time that NKU downed four consecutive conference opponents in straight sets.
- Snyder had her second consecutive double-double with 31 assists and 10 digs. It marks the first time that a Norse has had a double-double in consecutive sweeps since 2008, when Tristen Dye posted 12 kills and 14 digs against Kentucky Wesleyan and 12 kills and 13 digs against Wheeling Jesuit in two tournament sweeps on Sept. 8 in Ashland, Ohio. Snyder also registered five kills.
- Creamer improved on her career-high hitting percentage, blasting 16 kills on 19 attempts with no errors for a .842 clip.
- Freshman rightside hitter Laura Crawford added seven kills, while Childers had six.
- The Norse hit .337 compared to .224 for the Penguins. NKU also had the heavy advantage in digs, 49-33 and service aces, 7-3. Youngstown State held the edge in blocks, however, with six compared to just one for the Norse. It marks the first time this season that the Norse have swept an opponent while being out-blocked by more than one.
- NKU's serving was led by Hurley, freshman setter/DS Shelby Olsen and junior DS McKenzie Eskridge. Each had two aces, including back-to-back aces in the final three points of the match by Eskridge.
- Hurley led the defense with 16 digs, while Libs added 10.
Up Next
- The Norse will stay at home for the next match, hosting UIC at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15. Following the match, the team will host a free skills clinic.
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