VALPARAISO, Ind. – Northern Kentucky volleyball is showing no signs of slowing down after recording its sixth consecutive sweep of the season, downing Valparaiso on the road, 25-21, 25-15, 25-19. The Norse were unfazed by Valpo's unorthodox system that saw libero Morganne Longoria double up by also filling the role of primary setter, and used staunch defense against the Crusaders' wing hitters to move to 12-8 on the season and 6-3 in Horizon League play. With the setback, Valpo drops to 11-15 (3-7 HL).
NKU has now won six straight matches in three sets, making the team just one of two in the nation to be currently riding a sweep streak of six or better. The last time the Norse took down six consecutive teams in sweeps was between Sept. 3-9, 2011. The last time that the Norse did not drop a set in six matches in conference action was in the 2003 season.
The Quote
"We worked all week on defending out of system sets off serve receive and transition. Our serving played a big role, and it was important for us to contain (outsides) Carlson and Campbell offensively. One of the biggest keys for us was to not let their slower tempo affect our speed offensively. We needed to keep our identity." –Head Coach
Liz Hart
First Set Summary
- The opening set proved to be the most competitive, with NKU hitting .170, comparatively low to the hitting percentages in recent sets, while Valpo hit .159.
- Middle hitter Keely Creamer led the offense with four kills on six swings.
- NKU's back row stood out in the first frame, with the Norse tallying 24 digs. Junior DS McKenzie Eskridge picked up eight digs, followed by redshirt-libero Lauren Hurley with seven.
Second Set Summary
- The Norse had their highest hitting percentage of the match at .308 while the Crusaders were held to .075 and just eight kills, aiding in the 25-15 victory.
- Hurley had an impressive set with nine digs and two aces, also adding a kill off a well-placed free ball that disrupted Valpo's communication.
- Creamer once again had four kills, as did outside hitters Haley Libs and Tristen Simpson.
Third Set Summary
- NKU had a stronger set at the net in the final frame, recording three blocks, including two from Creamer.
- Creamer, Simpson and freshman rightside Laura Crawford all had three kills in the 25-19 final set.
- Snyder led the defense with four digs and was 2-for-2 on hitting attempts to go with a block.
Norse Notes
- NKU is one of just two teams in NCAA Division I currently riding a sweep streak of six or better. The only other team to have downed its last six-or-more opponents is Princeton, which has a seven-match sweep streak dating back to Sept. 30.
- NKU had not recorded two sweeps over a conference opponent since the 2012 season, when the Norse took down both Mercer and Stetson in straight sets.
- The Norse have not had six straight wins since Aug. 24-Sept. 27, 2012, when NKU went on an eight-match winning streak to kick off joining the ranks of Division I with wins over Saint Peter's, Western Carolina, North Carolina A&T, Wright State, Morehead State, Alabama A&M, Evansville and Providence. Furthermore, NKU has not had six consecutive sweeps since Sept. 3-9, 2011, when the Norse downed Ashland, Western Florida, Florida Tech, Saginaw Valley, Charleston (W. Va.) and Saint Joseph's all in straight sets. The wins are even more impressive when considering that they have all come within conference play. The last time NKU won six straight conference matches was between Oct. 2-14, 2008, with victories over Great Lakes Valley Conference foes Missouri-St. Louis, Missouri S&T, Quincy, Rockhurst, Drury and Bellarmine. When it comes down to consecutive sweeps against conference opponents, NKU has put together a streak that has not been seen in almost 15 years. The Norse had six straight sweeps over Wisconsin-Parkside, Illinois-Springfield, Quincy, Southern Indiana, Kentucky Wesleyan and Missouri-St. Louis between Oct. 25 and Nov. 13, 2003.
- Snyder recorded her fourth consecutive double-double in a sweep with 35 assists and 12 digs to go with four kills and two blocks. NKU's available statistical box scores date back to the 2006 season, in which there is no instance of any player having three, yet alone four, straight double-doubles in consecutive sweeps. The closest is from the 2007 season, when Tristen Dye posted consecutive double-doubles on Sept. 8 in wins over Kentucky Wesleyan and Wheeling Jesuit.
- Creamer had 11 kills off a .550 clip to go with three blocks. She has reached double-digit kills in the last six sweeps. With her blocks, she moved into the fourth spot on NKU's all-time block assists list. She trails Liz Hart (née Holmes) by one block assist.
- Simpson also hit double-digit kills, with 10.
- Libs was just shy of hitting another double-double, with nine kills and eight digs.
- Hurley led the Norse defense with 19 digs, while Eskridge had a season-best 14 digs.
- NKU's serving and passing was solid, as the Norse recorded six aces while not conceding one to the Crusaders. NKU also out-dug the Crusaders, 62-48, once again keeping the top backrow defense in the League under control.
Up Next
- The Norse return home tomorrow to host Wright State at 4 p.m. ET in
Regents Hall. The match will be broadcast on ESPN3 and will be available to view on WatchESPN and the ESPN App. Tomorrow is also Youth Jersey Night, which provides free admission to youth who come to the match in their team's jersey.
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