No. 7 Thomas More volleyball improves to 17-1; NewCath grad McDonald earns OVC weekly honor

NKyTribune staff

A week ago, the Thomas More College volleyball team sported a No. 10 ranking in the NCAA Division III national poll.

Seven days later, now playing as Thomas More University, the Saints are ranked No. 7 in the national poll. And the Saints continued their winning ways on Tuesday night against visiting Cincinnati Christian.

Madison Krumpelman collected 13 kills and 19 digs as Thomas More defeated Cincinnati Christian, 25-9, 18-25, 25-16, 25-10, at the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills. Krumpelman also hit .394 as the Saints (17-1) extended their winning streak to six.

Emily Mohs hammered down a team-leading 15 kills for Thomas More, which posted a .217 hitting percentage. Thomas More setter Jenna Fessler finished with 36 assists and 10 digs, while Jenna Mummert added 10 kills and attacked at a .400 clip. Cincinnati Christian, which hit .019 for the match, dropped to 5-9 this season.

Thomas More has defeated four nationally ranked teams this season, including a sweep of then-No. 12 Hope (Mich.) on Saturday, to jump into the NCAA Division III top 10. The Saints will play host to Franklin (Ind.) at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Connor Convocation Center.

The Saints will also welcome Centre (Ky.) to Crestview Hills on Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m. Thomas More then hits the road for a tournament in Michigan, where top-ranked Calvin (Mich.) is hosting a two-day event Oct. 12-13.

Thomas More will meet Calvin at 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 13 in the finale of that tournament.

NEWCATH GRAD EARNS OVC HONOR: Former Newport Central Catholic volleyball star Rachel McDonald has been named the Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week.

McDonald, a sophomore outside hitter at Southern Illinois Edwardsville, recorded 24 kills and 21 digs in a win over UT-Martin. In that victory, she became the first SIUE player in seven years to record 20-plus kills and 20-plus digs in a match.

Against Southeast Missouri State, McDonald finished with 19 kills and 16 digs. She also had a season-best six service aces versus the Redhawks and recorded a .320 hitting percentage for the week.

McDonald finished her career at NewCath with 1,307 kills, 613 digs, 165 blocks and 139 service aces. The Cold Spring native holds NewCath records for kills in a career, kills in a match (38) and kills in a season (483).

NKU PLAYS AT YSU: The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team plays a Horizon League road match at Youngstown State on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

NKU is 11-4 overall, 3-1 in the Horizon League. Youngstown State is 7-10 overall, 1-3 in the Horizon League. The Norse are 6-0 all-time against the Penguins.

NKU continues to lead the nation defensively with 20.2 digs per set. Sophomore libero Ashton Terrill ranks fifth nationally and leads the Horizon League with 5.88 digs per set.

NKU outside hitter Haley Libs has been selected as one of 30 Division I candidates who are up for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate volleyball. Libs — who has a 4.00 grade point average — is the only player in the Horizon League to be named to the candidate list.

Libs is NKU’s top offensive player and has recorded more than 1,000 career kills and digs. She averages 4.15 kills and 3.83 digs per set this season.

NKU MEN’S SOCCER DEFEATS EIU: The NKU men’s soccer team posted a 3-0 win over Eastern Illinois on Tuesday night in Highland Heights. Calvin Murphy netted a pair of goals for the Norse, who improved to 8-3 with the non-conference victory.

The NKU record for most wins during the Division I era is nine, which was set during the 2013 season. The Norse travel to Oakland for a Horizon League contest at 4 p.m. Saturday.

(Information compiled from NKU Athletics Communications, Thomas More and staff reports)