HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The tough opening stretch of the young 2011 season continued for the University of Charleston volleyball team Wednesday night as they ran into a red-hot opponent in unbeaten and 24th ranked Northern Kentucky. The Norse held their spotless record with a 3-0 decision again UC.

Charleston (0-4) came out matching NKU point for point taking the score to 6-6 before a 10-3 run handed the hosts a comfortable cushion. The Golden Eagles only committed five errors in the opening frame, but a strong offensive performance from the Norse allowed them to record a 25-15 set victory behind a 36 percent attack percentage.

The road didn't get any easier for the University of Charleston as Northern Kentucky continued to dominate on the offisive attack committing just four errors in a 25-16 second set, before slamming a blazing 55 percent in a third set where they committed no errors to seal the victory with a 25-10 third set.

Vivien Souders (Swarthmore, PA / Strath Haven) paced the Golden Eagles offensively with seven kills, two assists and two digs, while the Norse were led on the evening by Noelle Peterson with 10 kills and two digs.

The University of Charleston finally gets a reprieve from the road when they return to the friendly confines of newly refinished Eddie King Gym to host the UC Invitational Tournament this weekend. The Golden Eagles kick off the seven-team tournament with a 12:00 pm contest against Belmont-Abbey.