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Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Box Score

Oct. 11, 2011 - The North Central College women's volleyball team celebrated Senior Night with a victory on Tuesday, collecting a 3-1 victory over Augustana College at Gregory Arena.

The Cardinals (11-10, 3-2 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) picked up what had proven to be an elusive home win in conference play, having lost their previous two home matches against CCIW opposition. North Central hit .245 for the game, well above its season average, and notched 11 service aces in putting away the victory.

The hosts pulled ahead early inthe first set and never looked back, extending their advantage until closing out a 25-15 win. North Central appeared in position to win the second set as well, leading by as many as six points before a late Viking rally. The Cardinals served with a 24-23 advantage, but Augustana (7-15, 1-4 CCIW) rallied for the final three points and secured a 26-24 victory after outside hitter Emily Leazer's service ace.

The Vikings pulled in front early in the third set as well, but North Central pulled even and steadily built a lead. The Cardinals pulled ahead by as many as six points and scored the final three points on two kills by Jenae Harner and another by Amber Ladwig to win, 25-20. The fourth set was a nip-and-tuck affair most of the way, and the Cardinals owned just a 19-18 advantage before two straight kills by Kedryn Orrison sparked a four-point run that put the hosts in the driver's seat at 23-18. Augustana picked up a point to stop the rally, but Orrison and Ladwig followed with kills on successive plays to close out a 25-19 fourth-set win and the match.

Harner and Crystal Wright led North Central's attack with 13 kills each, and Orrison and Ladwig each totaled 11. Orrison posted a team-high .600 attack percentage, while Wright hit .400. Harner also put up four service aces, with Orrison adding three, Sarah Eggert paced the defense with 20 digs, and Ryan Lally put up a season-high 54 assists.

The Cardinals host the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament on Friday and Saturday.