Northern Kentucky University volleyball head coach Liz Hart would rather not talk about the streak.
But people are starting to notice NKU’s 10 straight volleyball wins, including an 8-0 string that has the Norse (13-6 overall) tied with Wright State atop the Horizon League standings going into Tuesday’s 6 p.m. match against the Raiders in Dayton. (The game can be seen on ESPN+.)
“I think it’s good to have social media presence and … excitement, but for us, no, we don’t, we don’t talk about it at all,” Hart said.
Word has nevertheless gotten around about what NKU is doing.
“I have been reminded by my one of my professors every week,” senior middle blocker Ivey Stocks says.
Stocks leads the team with 197 kills and 82 blocks.
“I think I like to hit more, but it is fun to like get a stuffed block on someone,” she says.
Sophomore defensive specialist/libero Daisy Cluxton has 321 digs. Her strategy is simple.
“My mentality, honestly, back on defense is just to keep the ball off the ground,” Cluxton said. “And I’ll take my speed to my advantage, and I just kind of run around back there and try to keep the ball off the ground.”
Sophomore setter Abby Pickard has 776 assists. She said she’s paying more attention to what the other team is doing.
“I’ve been setting my whole life, so that comes more natural, but working on having a higher IQ and seeing what the other side of the court does and what their blocking scheme is what helps me put my attackers in like better situations to get kills,” she said.
If you count last season, NKU’s regular-season run against league teams is 21 games.
“We’ve had a really strong team the past two years,” Hart said. “And so I think honestly, just because we are just so focused on the process and getting better each week and making sure that we’re getting better each day at practice, I think that’s where our head’s at, and I think that just allows us to make sure that we’re keeping the right focus.”
NKU women’s soccer sets one record, ties another vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
Sunday’s 7-0 win over the Mastodons is the program’s largest victory margin over a Horizon League opponent since the Norse joined NCAA Division I, and it tied a single-game record, matching a 7-1 win over Youngstown State in 2017.
Megan Molner and and Macey Blanton each scored two goals. Molner leads the team with 11.
NKU improved to 3-3-2 in the league and 7-5-3 overall. The Norse are seventh in the league headed into Thursday’s match at Detroit Mercy.
The NKU men’s team’s woes, meanwhile continued. Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Robert Morris extended the winless streak to 0-5-1. The Norse fell to 1-10-2 overall and 0-4-2 in the league headed into Tuesday’s match at Xavier.
NKU men’s and women’s cross country
The Norse women and men finished third and fourth, respectively, in Friday’s Eagle/Knight Invitational at Eagle Trace Golf Course near Morehead.
In the women’s 6K race, Brittany Arnold led NKU’s women, finishing eighth in 22:29.31. Grace Biddle was ninth in 22:34.97, Sami Govey was 15th in 23:20.20, Julia Verhoff was 17th in 23:29.75, and Carlie Condit was 20th in 23:47.19.
In the men’s 8K, Nathan Ruth led NKU, finishing 16th in 26:23.39. Brady Messer wfas 19th in 26:45.74, Noah Towne was 23rd in 27:19.79, Gregory Beard was 30th in 28:18.15, and Brayden Rice was 36th in 30:04.31.
The Norse finish the season at the Horizon League Championships Oct. 31 in Clinton, Pennsylvania.
Four Norse compete at East Regional Championship
Four members of NKU’s women’s triathlon finished in the top 100 at the Women’s Collegiate Triathlon East Regional Championship on Saturday at Lanier Islands in Buford, Georgia.
The race included a 750-meter (0.46-mile) swim, a 20-kilometer (12-4-mile) bike ride and, and 5K (3.1-mile) run. Charlotte Cunningham led the Norse with a 70th-place overall finish. In a final time of 1 hour, 18 minutes and 30 seconds (a 13:08 swim, 40: 22 ride and 22:21 run.
Maggie Wilson finished in 76th overall in 1:19:43, including a team-fastest 38:43 on the bike. Tia Weiss (1:26:39) and Fallon Bright (1:28:55) were 94th and 97th, respectively.
Saints football falls to Ashland
Ashland’s 27 unanswered first-half points were all the Eagles needed in Saturday’s 48-10 win at Republic Bank Field.
Thomas More (1-6, 1-4 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference) gained just 237 yards, with only 20 on the ground. Ashland (2-5, 2-3) gained 497.
Saints quarterback Ben Chesser was 18-of-36 for 217 yards, a touchdown pass to Numehnne Gwilly and five interceptions.
The Saints take their final road trip of the season next Saturday Lake Erie College. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Painesville, Ohio.
Thomas More soccer
The Saints men and women are both in third place in the GMAC.
The men (7-1-3 in conference and 9-3-3 overall) lost to Cedarville, 3-2 on Thursday and salvaged a 0-0 tie Saturday at Tiffin thanks to Joey Jones’ eight saves.
Titouan Fraslin and Ramzi Termanini scored for Thomas More.
Termanini leads the team with five goals, and Edward Longhurst has seven assists. Jones has a 0.56 goals-against average with 37 saves and nine shutouts.
The Saints play their last home game against Findlay at 5 p.m. Thursday and travel to Ashland on Saturday and Kentucky Wesleyan on Oct. 27.
Thomas More’s women (8-1-2 in conference and 10-1-4 overall) extended their undefeated (5-0-2) streak to seven games after Saturday’s 0-0 match at Tiffin. Credit the Saints’ defense – just one goal allowed since Sept. 24.
The Saints have scored 31 goals an allowed only seven. Ivy Hoffman has eight goals, Josie Gruber is next with seven, Alexis Harden has five, and Andjela Popovic has four and a team-high four assists. Goalkeeper Emma Yeager has a 0.42 goals-against average with 49 saves and seven shutouts.
Thomas More men’s golf
The Saints finished 19th at the 54-hole Doc Spragg Invitational Saturday at Findlay Country Club.
Junior Aden Walls was the top finisher for the Saints, placing in a tie for 69th with a score of 13-over par 229 (73, 79, 77). Senior Nathan Resing tied for 72nd with a 230 (78, 78, 74), junior Ben Egan tied for 81st at 233 (75, 74, 84), and freshmen Tucker Ward and Tyler Brandstetter tied for 92nd at 239.
Missouri-St. Louis won the team title with a 16-under par 200, and the Tritons’ Ludvig Granlund and Logan Mayo tied for first at 9-under 207.
Thomas More finishes the fall season at the Kentucky Wesleyan Invitational Saturday and Sunday at the Pearl Club in Owensboro.
A rough volleyball weekend
Thomas More lost three matches this weekend at the Crossover Tournament in Hammond, Indiana.
On Friday, the Saints lost to Illinois-Springfield, 3-1, and Upper Iowa 3-0, followed by Saturday’s 3-0 loss to William Jewell College.
The Saints return to GMAC play when they host Ashland at 6 p.m. Friday and take on Ohio Dominican at 1 p.m. Saturday in Columbus.
