Robert Morris Box Score

St. Norbert Box Score

Oct. 10, 2008 – The North Central College volleyball team was a perfect 2-0 in its first day of competition as the host institution for the annual Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament on Friday, scoring a 3-0 shutout of Robert Morris College-Springfield (Ill.) before avenging a loss from earlier in the season with a 3-2 victory over St. Norbert College (Wis.) at Gregory Arena.

The Cardinals (16-7) opened play in the tournament by cruising to wins by scores of 25-16 and 25-18 in the first two sets against Robert Morris, before finishing off the Eagles by pulling out a 25-23 win in the third.

Christy Hermann (Jr., Washington, Ill./Illinois Central CC) hit .632 with 12 kills and three total blocks for North Central, while Jamie Drozd (Fr., Palos Park, Ill./Stagg) turned in 20 digs and two service aces. Alyssa Lantz (Fr., Rockford, Ill./Rockford East) tallied 23 assists in two sets.

The hosts' match against St. Norbert was every bit as close as their first encounter, a 3-2 Green Knights victory in the Jim Coleman Memorial Tournament at Aurora University on Sept. 6. North Central claimed the first set, 25-21, before St. Norbert claimed the second set by the same score.

Down, 25-24, and facing set point in the third frame, the Cardinals scored three straight points, including two kills by Stacie Mokros (Jr., Lena, Ill./Lena-Winslow), to inch ahead with a 27-25 victory. The Knights, however, once again returned the favor with a 25-17 win in the fourth set.

The fifth and deciding set was tied on four occasions, the last of which came at 11-11. From then on, the Cardinals would not allow another point, scoring four straight on the serve of Stephanie Ryding (Jr., Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) to prevail, 15-11.

Jessica Eggert (Sr., Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove North) led all attackers with 18 kills, while Mokros totaled 17 with four total blocks and Crystal Wright (Fr., Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich) added 12. Anna Wirtz (So., Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) finished with 22 digs and Ryding added 20 to go with her team-leading 51 assists and four service aces.

North Central returns to action in the tournament Saturday morning, taking on Trine University (Ind.) at 10 a.m., before concluding play with a 2 p.m. match against Trinity International University (Ill.)