HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. –  Northern Kentucky volleyball is riding a historic run of 21 consecutive sets won in conference action, a first for the Norse in the 41-year program history. This week's road test will be one of the toughest of the season, as the Norse travel to two of the top teams in the League for a pair of Horizon League matches. NKU first heads to Rochester, Michigan, to take on Oakland at 6 p.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 28. The next day, the Norse face League-leading Cleveland State at 4 p.m. in Cleveland.
 
Only Saturday's match at Cleveland State will be broadcast through ESPN3, with Joe Jastrzemski on the call for the Vikings. The match will be available for viewing on WatchESPN and the ESPN App.
 
LAST TIME OUT: NKU has kept the ball rolling for over three weeks, with sweeps over seven opponents dating back to Oct. 1 with an upset over Oakland in Regents Hall. Last week, the Norse took down Valparaiso and Wright State in straight sets for the second time this season, marking the first time since the 2012 season that NKU had swept two conference opponents twice in the same season. At Valpo, the Norse secured a 25-21, 25-15, 25-19 win in a spectacular defensive showing that saw three Norse record double-digit digs in three sets. The 25-13, 25-19, 25-17 win over the Raiders saw a new Division I-era school record in team hitting percentage as NKU hit .430 behind sophomore outside hitter Haley Libs and senior middle hitter Keely Creamer, who both tallied 13 kills and hit over .600 in the match.
 
RED HOT NORSE: Heading into Saturday, NKU has swept seven straight League opponents in Oakland, Valparaiso (twice), Wright State (twice), Youngstown State and UIC, making NKU one of just two teams in NCAA Division I currently riding a seven-match sweep streak. The other team is Princeton, which has won 22 straight sets in the Ivy League. The last time that NKU had seven straight sweeps was in 2008, when the Norse went on a run of eight consecutive sweeps that included wins over Lindsey Wilson, Thomas More, Concord, West Virginia State, Charleston (W. Va.), Glenville State, Kentucky Wesleyan and Wisconsin-Parkside. When it comes down to conference-only sweeps, NKU has never swept seven straight conference opponents since NKU joined its first conference in 1985.
 
SCOUTING OAKLAND: Oakland is tied for second in the Horizon League, along with NKU and Green Bay, with a record of 7-3. All three of the Golden Grizzlies' setbacks this year have been surprising ones, starting with a 3-0 loss at the hands of the Norse on Oct. 1. Oakland has gone on to drop matches to Valparaiso and UIC, with the Crusaders sweeping the Golden Grizzlies in Rochester without a setter in the lineup while the Flames used a 3-2 victory to move out of the bottom spot in the League.
  
Like the first meeting, the Golden Grizzlies are one of the top teams in the nation in serving, averaging 1.78 aces per set for 12th among Division I teams. Melissa Deatsch leads the League and is second in the nation with .69 aces per set and is also the team's top terminator with 3.04 kills per set. Oakland is also a strong blocking team, led by Krysteena Davis with 1.11 blocks per set.
  
When Oakland came to Highland Heights at the start of the month, the Norse stunned the Golden Grizzlies for the first win over Oakland in program history, 25-16, 25-14, 25-23. NKU surrendered just two passing errors to what was at the time the No. 8 team in the nation in aces per set, also holding the Golden Grizzlies to a .087 clip hitting. Oakland holds an 8-1 advantage in the all-time series.
 
SCOUTING CLEVELAND STATE: The Vikings are riding one of the best winning percentages in the nation coming into the weekend, with an overall record of 18-4 and a Horizon League mark of 9-1. Cleveland State's lone HL loss came in a five-set decision against Oakland in the Horizon League opener. The Vikings top the League in hitting percentage (.250), kills per set (13.80) and blocks per set (2.38), all of which rank in the top-75 nationally. Senior outside hitter Grace Kauth leads the Vikings with 3.65 kill per set, while middle hitter Aaliyah Slappy is second the League in hitting percentage (.343) and blocks per set (1.21).
  
The Vikings bested the Norse in five sets when they came to Highland Heights on Sept. 30 for the League home opener, 25-19, 20-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-12. Both outside hitter Haley Libs and setter Taylor Snyder posted double-doubles, while Keely Creamer and Tristen Simpson led the offense with 19 and 18 kills, respectively. Cleveland State leads the all-time series, 5-3, and has claimed victory the last three matches over NKU.
 
NORSE RANKINGS: NKU ranks well in several statistical categories in the Horizon League this season. In HL-only matches, NKU is the top team in hitting percentage (.265) and kills per set (14.06), while ranking second to Cleveland State in both categories in all matches (.222/13.08). Individually, redshirt-senior setter Taylor Snyder is dishing out the most assists in the League with 10.88 per set and 11.81 per set in HL matches. Her mark of 10.88 would rank 25th in the nation, but Snyder has not played in the required 66 percent of matches to be listed in the statistical rankings after sitting seven matches to injury.
  
The Norse also have two standout attackers in senior middle hitter Keely Creamer and sophomore outside hitter Haley Libs. Creamer ranks sixth overall (3.21) and second in HL matches (3.92) in kills per set, while Libs ranks eighth (2.99) and fifth (3.32). Creamer is also one of the League's most efficient hitters, ranking third overall (.322) and second in HL (.354), while Libs has turned it up in League action to be the only outside hitter to rank in the top 10 in both kills per set and hitting percentage, ranking seventh behind a .289 clip. Libs is also one of the top servers, ranking seventh and fourth in aces per set (.30/.32). Defensively, redshirt-senior libero Lauren Hurley ranks second in digs per set (4.79/4.82).