HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky volleyball remains in the Bluegrass State for the Morehead State Invitational. NKU will play back-to-back matches on Friday, Sept. 9, taking on Ball State at 1 p.m. ET and Appalachian State at 4:30 p.m. The tournament will wrap up on Saturday at 2 p.m., when NKU plays host Morehead State. All matches will take place in Wetherby Gym in Morehead, Kentucky.
 
LAST TIME OUT: NKU went 1-1 last Saturday at the BGSU Invitational, dismantling former Great Lakes Valley Conference rival Fort Wayne in straight sets before being swept by Bowling Green. In the match against the Mastodons, NKU claimed a 25-21, 25-21, 25-21 victory led by three Norse with double-figure kills. Senior outside hitter Tristen Simpson posted a season-high 13  kills to lead the team, followed by sophomore outside hitter Haley Libs with 12 and senior middle blocker Keely Creamer with 10 kills off 20 swings with no errors.
  
The Norse saw their fair share of struggles just a couple hours later against Bowling Green, taking the opening set the distance but falling to the Falcons, 32-30. The ensuing sets resulted in side-out difficulties, with BGSU completing the sweep, 25-9, 25-14. Creamer led the way with nine kills, and redshirt-senior libero Lauren Hurley was solid in the back row with 15 digs and consistent passing.
 
INDIVIDUAL HONORS IN 2016: Redshirt-senior setter Taylor Snyder and Creamer were named to the all-tournament team at the Indiana Invitational, Aug. 26-27. Creamer hit .448 off 31 kills to go with 11 blocks to earn the honor, while Snyder paced the team with 90 assists, 24 digs and 15 kills between the three matches.
  
Hurley earned all-tournament honors in Bowling Green after averaging 4.67 digs per set and controlling the Norse reception line to keep the team in system off the serve.
 
HOT HITTING FOR CREAMER: Keely Creamer currently ranks 54th in the nation in individual hitting percentage with a .396 clip off 50 kills. She has hit over .500 in two matches this season and over .350 in four of five contests.
 
SCOUTING BALL STATE: Ball State is still struggling to find its first win this year, holding a 0-8 record under first-year head coach Kelli Miller. The Cardinals have faced a common opponent with NKU this season, falling in five sets to Fort Wayne on the road on Aug. 27. Most recently, Ball State was on the wrong side of a 25-18, 25-17, 25-21 decision to Butler.  The Cardinal offense is run primarily through  Sabrina Mangapora, Brooklyn Goodsel and Ellie Dunn on the wings, all averaging between 2.29-2.60 kills per set. Goodsel is the most consistent of the three with a .274 hitting percentage. The Cardinals average 2.00 blocks per set, led by Avery Devoe with 0.83 rejections a game.  Freshman setter Amber Seaman runs the offense with 8.28 assists per set, while fellow rookie Kate Avlia averages 3.44 digs a set as libero.
  
Friday's match marks the first time since 1981 that NKU will play Ball State, with the all-time series deadlocked at 2-2. The last time the two teams met, Ball State won, 8-15, 15-9, 15-10 on Oct. 20, 1981 in Oxford, Ohio.
 
SCOUTING APPALACHIAN STATE: Friday's second match will be the first meeting between NKU and Appalachian State. Coming off a 22-8 season, the Mountaineers have posted a 2-5 record in 2016. The Mountaineers most recently fell to Western Carolina in five sets, a team that App State handily swept a year prior.
  
The squad lost 2015 Sun Belt Offensive Student-Athlete of the Year Jess Keller, Emily Corrigan and Paige Brown to graduation, all of whom were named AVCA All-Southeast honorable mention. Also garnering the honor was Ashton Gregory, who returned for her senior year but has yet to play in a match in 2016. Freshman Emma Longley has established herself as the team's biggest weapon, as she currently ranks fourth in the nation in attacks per set with 13.30 swings a game, averaging 4.44 kills per set, which ranks 28th in the nation. Ashlyn Brown ranks among the top-100 setters in Division I, dishing out 9.91 assists per set, and libero Olivia Loeffler ranks 79th in digs per set, with 4.62.
 
SCOUTING MOREHEAD STATE: The Eagles have posted a 2-5 record this year, and are riding a four-match losing skid with a recent 3-1 setback to Wright State on Tuesday night. Morehead State is led by sophomore outside hitter Merideth Jewell, who averages 3.90 kills per set, which ranks 75th in the country, off 12.97 attacks a game, good for the ninth-most swings per game in Division I. Most of the offense is run through Jewell and middle blocker Sydney Schuler, who averages 3.00 k/s. Defensively, both Jessie Wachtman and Jordan Jones average nearly a block a set, while Danielle McCarson is just over four digs per set in the back row. The Eagles have seen two setters running the offense, but it has been Jordan Jones filling the spot for the last three matches.
  
The Norse and the Eagles also have a common opponent this year, falling to Marshall in four sets on Sept. 2. NKU had the upper hand against the Thundering Herd on opening weekend, claiming a 3-1 win at the Indiana Invitational on Aug. 27.
  
NKU and Morehead State have a rich history dating back to the first year of Norse volleyball in 1975. Saturday will make the 34th meeting between the two programs, with Northern Kentucky holding a 21-12 advantage in the all-time series. The series was recently renewed in 2012 after not having been contested since 1985, with a biennial meeting since then. The Norse have won the past two matches under head coach Liz Hart and the previous three in the mid-80s for a five-match win streak. NKU has won 10 of the 14 matches that took place in Morehead, including the past four away contests.