The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team split a pair of matches against Great Lakes Valley Conference competition on Oct. 22 and 23 at Regents Hall.

NKU lost a five set heartbreaker to the University of Indianapolis, which was ranked 19th nationally. The Greyhounds took the game three sets to two, 23-25, 25-13, 25-23, 19-25, 15-13.

The Norse led 13-10 in the fifth and final set, but were unable to hold on for the victory as Indianapolis scored five straight points to close the match.

“We played hard but we just got to learn how to finish games,” said head coach Liz Holmes.

Junior outside hitter Sarah Drennen led the team in the losing effort with 19 kills, as sophomore outside hitter Shelby Buschur and junior outside hitter Noelle Peterson both added 13 kills.

Sophomore defensive specialist Kylee Tarantino led the NKU defense with 23 digs, while freshman defensive specialist Anna Prickel finished with 16 digs.

NKU was able to rebound the next evening defeating Saint Joseph’s on Saturday, October 23 by shutting out 25-18, 25-22, 25-10.

Drennen led the Norse in the match with 12 kills and 15 digs as Tarantino added 13 digs in the victory.

“We passed really well which allowed our offense to run smoothly and our hitters to put the ball down,” said sophomore setter Jenna Schreiver, who finished the game with 31 assists and seven digs.

NKU improved to 16-12 overall and 6-4 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Norse have four games left before starting play in the GLVC Tournament including the final two home games against the University of Missouri-Saint Louis and Missouri S&T on November 5 and 6.

Story by John Minor