HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky volleyball begins its 41st year of competition when it heads to Bloomington, Ind., for the Indiana Invitational. The tournament, hosted by the Hoosiers, will feature the first three matches of the 2016 season for the Norse. NKU will face host Indiana first at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Aug. 26. Saturday will feature two matchups, with the Norse playing Marshall at 10 a.m. and Evansville at 5 p.m.
THE 2016 NORSE LINEUP: NKU returns four of its starters from the 2015 season, including 2015 Horizon League Freshman of the Year,
Haley Libs. The Floyds Knobs, Ind., native put up 404 kills on a .244 hitting percentage and also recorded 10 double-doubles in her rookie campaign. Opposite Libs in the lineup is
Tristen Simpson, who averaged 2.00 kills per set last season and was also a force at the net with 45 total blocks. Leading the offense will be
Taylor Snyder, who is chasing the NKU all-time assists record with the current fourth-most dishes in program history at 3,714. Opposite NKU's setter is
Kelly Turner, who was able to put up eight double-digit kill matches as a freshman and will be transferring to the right pin.
Keely Creamer returns to the middle after another dominant season and will add a balance of offense and defense with her hitting and blocking abilities.
New additions to the Norse lineup will include
Lauren Hurley assuming the role of libero after the departure of NKU's fifth-best defensive performer,
Mel Stewart, and
Georgia Childers making her first start in the middle opposite Creamer. NKU welcomes three freshmen in 2016:
Laura Crawford (OH),
Shelby Olsen (S) and
Jaden Thiem (DS).
SCOUTING INDIANA: The Hoosiers return four starters while losing two along with their libero from the 2015 season, but bring in six fresh faces for the 2016 season. Megan Tallman returns for her senior season after compiling 1,060 assists last year, good for ninth in the Big Ten. On the left pin, Allison Hammond is the top kills returner after averaging 2.76 kills per set and was strong behind the line with 27 aces. Indiana went 16-16 last year, posting a 6-14 record in the B1G. The Hoosiers had a powerful offense, putting up 13.05 k/s while holding opponents to 11.87, but hitting errors and a slight disadvantage at the net proved to be a factor in IU's overall record.
NKU holds the advantage in the all-time series with the Hoosiers, 5-3, but the two teams have not squared off on the court in more than three decades. The last time NKU played IU, the Norse came away with a 15-12, 15-13, 15-9 win in Highland Heights on Sept. 19, 1981. NKU has only played in Bloomington twice, dropping a 15-6, 15-10 decision on Nov. 7, 1980, before bouncing back the next day with a 15-11, 7-15, 16-14 win.
SCOUTING MARSHALL: The Thundering Herd is led by All-Conference USA First Team honoree Allly Kiekover, who posted 329 kills at a blistering .402 clip in the middle. Excluding the loss of Lauren Legge in the middle, Marshall returns its entire starting lineup. Cassie Weaver doubled up with Kiekover to form a powerful offensive tandem with her 387 kills on the left wing with assists dished out by Kayla Simmons, who averaged 9.34 assists a set. In the back row, libero Allie Kellerman returns after scooping up 555 digs. Marshall finished with a 16-14 record last year, including 7-9 in C-USA action. The Thundering Herd was solid across the board with respect to its opponents, averaging 12.37 k/s, 15.20 digs/set and 1.67 blocks/set.
In the all-time series, NKU has gone a perfect 4-0 against the Thundering Herd. Three of the wins have been in neutral territory, with the last matchup coming well before the start of the rally scoring era. The Norse secured a clear 15-6, 15-3, 15-2 victory on Nov. 6, 1982, keeping the streak of not having dropped a set to Marshall in the history of the two programs afloat.
SCOUTING EVANSVILLE: The Purple Aces continue to rebuild under fourth-year head coach Manolo Concepcion. Evansville lost its leading attacking pair in Miranda Genesis and Stephanie Cerino along with its starting setter in Lorena Marquez, but the team brings in four new players to help fill in the holes. The lineup is also a sizable one, as five members of the team are 6-foot-2 or taller. Evansville went 8-24 last year and struggled in the Missouri Valley Conference with just two wins. Termination was the primary setback, with the team posting a .168 hitting percentage on 1,348 kills.
Evansville is the only program that the Norse will face this weekend that has a series history with NKU in recent years. NKU leads in the all-time series, 7-2, including an undefeated 5-0 mark during the
Liz Hart era. The majority of the matches have been played on neutral ground, with the last neutral match on Sept. 7, 2013, when NKU won in four, 25-23, 20-25, 25-17, 25-17. When the two met last season in Evansville, NKU swept the Purple Aces in three hard-fought sets, 25-23, 25-20, 27-25.
OFFICIAL DIVISION I STATUS: NKU Athletics announced on Aug. 9 that the NCAA Board granted the department active status as a Division I institution. With active Division I status, NKU is now able to compete for NCAA Championship berths for the first time since the Norse started the four-year reclassification period.
NEAR THE TOP OF THE HORIZON: The Norse were picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League, according to a preseason poll of the League's nine head coaches. Reigning champion Cleveland State earned top honors with four first-place votes, followed closely by Valparaiso, also with four first-place votes. Oakland received one first-place vote, which put the Golden Grizzlies in third.
