The Niagara volleyball team continues its season-opening road trip on Friday when it starts play at the Bobcat Volleyball Invitational hosted by Ohio University. The Purple Eagles will face Ohio and Montana State on Friday and Belmont on Sunday.

The Purple Eagles return to the court after an impressive performance at the Patriot Invitational last weekend. NU rallied from two sets down to defeat Navy and swept George Mason before having its three-match winning streak snapped by South Carolina in the final match of the invitational.

Senior outside hitter Kari Honomichl continued her excellent start the 2012 season with another solid weekend in three matches for the Purple Eagles at the Patriot Invitational. Honomichl averaged 4.08 kills per set and 1.92 digs per set. She tied a match-best with 19 kills against Navy. In the sweep against George Mason, she led the match with 12 kills and had nine digs. Honomichl was one of the best players on the court against unbeaten South Carolina. Honomichl, who had nine kills in the opening set, finished with a match-high 18 kills which are the second most for her this season and the most in a four-set match. She also had a season-high .311 hitting percentage. Honomichl was named to the all-tournament team for the second straight tournament.

Teammate Ellen Senf joined Honomichl on the all-tournament team. Senf averaged 2.33 kills per set while having two matches with double-digit kills.

Niagara's attack has been proficient early on this season. The Purple Eagles are second in the MAAC in hitting percentage (.214), while their service game has been solid, ranking fourth in aces per set (1.43). 

NU’s first opponent at the Bobcat Invitational will be the host, Ohio, on Friday at 1 p.m. The Bobcats are 1-5 this season with their lone win coming against Western Carolina last weekend. Ohio has already played four ranked teams this season. Kelly Lamberti leads the team with 3.64 kills per set and with 3.14 digs per set. Abby Gilleland is tops on the team in assists with 8.30 per set.

The Purple Eagles’ will play another “Bobcat” when they take on Montana State at 5 p.m. MSU is 4-1 and won both of its matches at the Akron Tournament last week. Setter Jennifer Lundquist was named the tournament most valuable player after averaging 8.43 assists, 1.43 kills and 2.14 digs per set. Sarah Horton leads the team with 4.14 kills per set.

Niagara concludes the invitational against Belmont on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Bruins have dropped five straight after winning their season opener. Four Bruins are averaging at least two kills per set, led by Alex Martin who leads the team with 2.47 kills per set.