Box Score (XML) | Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – In front of a raucous home crowd at Regents Hall on Friday night, the Norse opened the inaugural Northern Kentucky Volleyball Invitational with a three-set victory (25-18, 25-23, 25-23) over Samford. With the victory, NKU remains unbeaten on the season with a 4-0 mark.
"It started with serve receive tonight," said head coach
Liz Hart. "Our passing allowed Taylor [Snyder] to put our hitters in really good positions to be successful. It is rare to have five hitters connect on such a high percentage of their attacks. Whether our hitters were hitting in or out of system, they were able to terminate the ball because of their smart choices. Mel [Stewart] also helped raised the intensity in the gym with several tremendous digs tonight."
The Norse attack was on point all evening long, amassing 44 kills on a scintillating .379 hitting percentage. All five Norse that registered double-digit attempts in the match hit over .300 on the night.
Jayden Julian led the offensive onslaught with 11 kills, while
Jenna Ruble and
Megan Wanstrath each posted nine kills on the evening.
Keely Creamer chipped in eight kills. Taylor Snider handed out 33 assists and
Mel Stewart picked up 11 digs, including two highlight-reel plays in the third set.
Ruble started a streak of seven-consecutive points in the first stanza with a kill from the middle of the court. NKU used the run to break a 7-all tie and spot the Norse with a 14-7 advantage before riding that margin to a 25-18 victory. A blistering .419 team hitting percentage paced the Norse attack.
Samford came out firing on all cylinders in the second frame, building a 10-5 lead in the early moments. But, NKU battled back and scored 11 of the next 14 points to force a Bulldog timeout with the Norse ahead, 16-13. Both teams scratched and clawed, but consecutive kills from Ruble and a third kill by Julian led NKU past Samford, 25-23.
Stewart ignited the home crowd with a pair of plays during the third set. Early in the stanza, NKU's libero got her leg on a serve that clipped the net to keep Northern Kentucky alive on the play. Creamer wound up getting a kill on the play for the Norse.
A few moments later, Stewart dug a hard-hit attack from the Bulldogs that landed in the back left corner on Samford's side for a kill and sent the home crowd into a frenzy.
The Norse showed some moxy in that third set, falling behind by four points before rallying to take a 14-13 lead. In a back-and-forth affair throughout the remainder of the frame, NKU took advantage of four-consecutive hitting errors from Samford.
After Julian put the Norse at game point, Creamer followed a Bulldog point and wrapped up the match with a smash that found the center of Samford's half of the court.
The loss dropped Samford to 2-2 on the season. Michaela Reeser paced Samford's attack with a game-high 17 kills.
NKU returns to the court on Saturday afternoon against SIU Edwardsville at 12:30 p.m. The two teams square off at Regents Hall in the second game of the tournament for both programs.
