The Stetson University volleyball team posted a .330 attack percentage en route to a 3-0 victory (25-20, 27-25, 25-21) over visiting Northern Kentucky in an Atlantic Sun Conference match Friday evening at the Edmunds Center.
The Hatters (15-8, 6-2 A-Sun) improved their home record to 10-1 and moved within one game of first-place in the league standings. The Norse fell to 8-13, 3-6.
"The win was very important for us," Stetson head coach Tim Loesch said. "We have a goal of defending our home court, and we lost a close one last time (vs. FGCU). The girls wanted to bounce back and they played with a lot of passion, and with a lot of energy and determination."
Leading 1-0 in the match, Stetson had to rally from 21-18 and 23-21 deficits in game two to extend the set. After a service error gave Stetson the advantage, Erika White put away a kill to send Stetson into intermission with a 2-0 lead.
"That was huge," Loesch said about the second set win. "NKU played tough, and we lost our focus a little bit along the way, but the girls found it towards the end. They were determined to keep fighting hard and found a way to win."
The Hatters never trailed in the third set, but had to stave off a late run by NKU as the Norse closed the gap to 20-19. Stetson scored five of the final seven points to preserve the victory.
"I felt like the third set was much like the second," Loesch said. "We had to show that same determination. Fortunately we were little bit ahead most of the way and we were able to close it out in fine fashion."
Kaley Melville and Tiffany Creamer recorded 12 kills each to pace the team. Melville did not commit an attack error in 26 swings and hit .462 for the match.
Kayla Weller dished out 39 assists, Michelle Kastner recorded 12 digs, and Ellen Hawks posted five blocks.
White hit an even .400 for the match. She and Madison Akins each tallied nine kills.
The Hatters collected four aces and six blocks for the match, and held NKU to a .187 hitting percentage.
Stetson will wrap up its homestand at 2 p.m. Saturday against Lipscomb.
Notes: Stetson has equaled its highest overall and conference win total since 2002 (15-14, 6-5) ... Kaley Melville moved into fourth-place among Stetson's all-time kill leaders (1160) ... The top four teams in the A-Sun are separated by one game in the standings.
