HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky volleyball heads to the nation's capital this weekend for the Bulldog Invitational, hosted by Georgetown. The Norse kick off the tournament on Friday, Sept. 6, with a 3 p.m. match versus Stony Brook. On Saturday, Sept. 7, NKU faces host Georgetown at 1 p.m. and Marshall at 5 p.m. The match against the Hoyas will be streamed through HoyaVision (paid broadcast).
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse opened up the season with a 2-1 record, finishing runner-up at the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational. NKU defeated South Alabama in four sets before dropping a five-setter to Western Michigan. The Norse capped off the tournament with a sweep of future Horizon League member Purdue Fort Wayne, 25-15, 25-15, 25-18. Senior outside hitter
Laura Crawford led the Norse with 3.75 kills per set, connecting at a .236 clip and adding 2.58 digs per set. She was named to the all-tournament team, along with
Natalie Hardig, who averaged 1.67 kills and 0.92 blocks per set.
Abby Kanakry had a successful debut for the Norse, posting 1.92 kills per set at a .320 hitting percentage.
SCOUTING STONY BROOK: The Seawolves enjoyed a 21-9 campaign and a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2018, but have started the season at 0-4. However, those opponents have included No. 22 Washington State and Iowa (receiving votes), as well as two teams that finished 2018 with a top-60 RPI, James Madison and Hofstra. Stony Brook suffered three-set losses to James Madison and Washington State, and took a set off both Iowa and Hofstra. The Seawolves return the reigning America East Setter of the Year, LeAnne Sakowicz, who has been dishing out 6.36 assists per set this season and has spread out the offense well as six different Seawolves are averaging more than a kill per set. Liz Pulver and Amiyah De'Long lead the team with 1.79 kills per set each. Kiani Kerstetter has been the team's leader in the back row, scooping up 4.00 digs per set for more than a third of the team's digs.
SCOUTING GEORGETOWN: The Hoyas finished runner-up in their own tournament last weekend, sporting a 3-1 record with the only loss being a sweep by Central Arkansas. Georgetown graduated a pair of All-BIG EAST selections from a year ago, but outside hitter Iva Vujosevic has stepped up for her senior campaign and is leading the Hoyas with 4.08 kills and 3.42 digs per set. Five other Georgetown players average over a kill per set, and the offense is run by the tandem of Emma Plutnicki and Margo Pivonka. At the net, Makayla Serrett contributes 1.00 block per set.
SCOUTING MARSHALL: The Thundering Herd began the season with a win over UT-Martin and losses to Indiana and Santa Clara. Redshirt-junior Ciara Debell has been leading the team with 4.09 kills per set, while Ivana Trencheva has been putting away 2.75 kills per set at an impressive .529 clip. Marshall's block has been a weapon for the Thundering Herd, as the team averages 2.27 blocks per set, led by Destiny Leon and Isa Dostal with 1.00 blocks per set each. Marshall runs a 6-2 offense behind Gabrielle Coulter and Sydney Lostumo, who average 5.45 and 5.00 assists per set, respectively.
SERIES STUFF: The matches against Stony Brook and Georgetown will be the first meetings in program history. NKU has defeated Marshall in all five meetings during the two programs' histories. In the last meeting on Aug. 27, 2016, the Norse upended the Thundering Herd in a four-set battle, 26-24, 28-26, 29-31, 25-19.
