The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team closes out its three-match home stand on Friday, welcoming Horizon League foe Oakland to Regents Hall. First serve is set for 7 p.m. with the action broadcast live on ESPN3.
Friday is NKU’s Dig Pink match. All fans will receive free admission and are encouraged to wear pink gear to Regents Hall. NKU will be offering Relay for Life t-shirts and pink ribbon totes for donations to benefit the American Cancer Society.
ABOUT OAKLAND: The Golden Grizzlies are winners of four of their last five matches, including a 3-0 sweep at home against Youngstown State last Saturday, entering this weekend’s match. Oakland will look to Cassie Pelloni and Melissa Deatsch, each averaging over three kills per set, to pace the offense. Deatsch also leads the defensive efforts with 3.06 digs per set, while Amanda Baker set the standard at the net with 0.91 blocks per set.
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse pulled out a dramatic five-set victory over League leader Cleveland State on Tuesday night, taking the final set by a 15-13 score. Keely Creamer led the way with 17 kills while Keyaira Lankheit poured in a career-high 13 kills as well. Haley Libs (15 kills, 15 digs) and Taylor Snyder (57 assists, 10 digs) each chipped in with double-doubles and Mel Stewart added 26 digs to pace the back row defense.
KEYAIRA’S CAREER NIGHT: Lankheit’s 13 kill effort came on a pivotal evening for the Norse, in a five-set victory over Cleveland State. The freshman hit .357 on the evening on 28 swings, representing more attempts than she had taken in any three matches combined previously. Her 13 successful kills were more than her greatest number of attempts in any single match prior to Tuesday night as well.
20 AND UP FOR STEWART: Mel Stewart posted her third consecutive 20+ dig match on Tuesday night with 26 against Cleveland State. She has hit the 20-dig plateau in four of her last five matches and five times overall this season.
FIVE-SET FURY: With Tuesday’s win, NKU improved to a perfect 3-0 record in five-set matches this season and extended that positive record to 8-1 over the last two seasons. The team’s only loss in five sets over the last two years was against Lipscomb last year in the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship semifinals.
SPREAD OFFENSE: The Norse have fired from all directions over the past two matches, getting kills from all over the floor. In Tuesday’s victory over Cleveland State, five different players – Lankheit, Libs, Creamer, Kelly Turner and Jayden Julian – had nine or more kills on the match. Against Youngstown State last Friday, four players – Creamer, Julian, Libs and Turner – posted 10 or more kills.
UP NEXT: The Norse hit the road next weekend for a pair of Horizon League matches. NKU will take on UIC on Friday evening before closing the weekend with a Saturday matinee at Valparaiso.
Valpo favored in Horizon League basketball poll
The Horizon League conference office released its men’s basketball preseason conference poll and all-conference teams as voted on by the coaches, sports information directors and members of the media. Northern Kentucky was selected to finish 10th in the poll.
Valparaiso topped the league poll with 418 points. Oakland was second with 368 points and was closely followed by Milwaukee’s 344 in third. Youngstown State was picked to finish ninth, just ahead of NKU by a slim six points.
Oakland’s Kahlil Felder was tabbed as the preseason player of the year and highlighted the first team all-conference list.
Northern Kentucky returns 61 percent of its scoring from last season’s team, including seniors Jalen Billups and Tyler White. The nation’s leader in shooting at 69.6 percent last year, Billups averaged 11.1 points per game to go along with 5.9 boards. White closed the season with three-straight 19-point efforts to finish the year averaging 10.2 points.
Brannen begins his first season guiding the Norse following 17-years as an assistant at Alabama, VCU, St. Bonaventure, Eastern Kentucky and Charleston. The native of the Northern Kentucky region most recently led Alabama to a 1-1 mark in the NIT as interim head coach before coming home to take the helm at NKU.
Norse Nation will get its first glimpse at the 2015-16 team on Nov. 7 when Northern Kentucky hosts Ohio Northern in an exhibition contest. The regular season kicks off on Nov. 13 at West Virginia.
Preseason Poll
1. Valparaiso (36) – 418
2. Oakland (6) – 368
3. Milwaukee – 344
4. Detroit (1) – 289
5. Wright State – 253
6. Green Bay – 215
7. Cleveland State – 173
8. UIC – 125
9. Youngstown State – 93
10. Northern Kentucky – 87
From NKU Athletics