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

St. Mary's Box Score
Wis.-Whitewater Box Score

Oct. 15, 2011 - The North Central College volleyball team enjoyed a strong finish in the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament on Saturday at Gregory Arena, winning both of its matches to improve to 14-11 for the season and 5-4 in home matches.

The Cardinals opened the day with a narrow 3-2 victory over St. Mary's University (Minn.) before taking down the 23rd-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 3-1, to finish with three wins in their four matches over the weekend.

North Central cruised to a 25-12 victory in the opening set against St. Mary's, scoring 15 of the final 19 points. The Cardinals fell behind, 9-2, in the second set but battled back, eventually tying the score at 22-22 as part of a 6-0 scoring run that gave the hosts the lead for the first time. Jenae Harner's eighth kill of the second set woundup sealing a 25-23 victory.

The Cardinals appeared to be in position to record the sweep, owning a 17-10 edge in the third set, but St. Mary's (15-12) scored seven straight points to get back into contention, and scored five of the final seven points of the set to record a 25-22 win. St. Mary's took the lead midway through the fourth set and held on for a 25-21 victory, forcing a decisive fifth set. 

North Central led early in the fifth set, but St. Mary's bounced back and the teams went back and forth for 18 straight points until the score stood at 15-15. After a St. Mary's attacking error, Crystal Wright came through with a kill to finish off the set and the match, 17-15.

Harner finished with a match-high 20 kills, while Wright totaled 18 and Amber Ladwig put up 14. Ryan Lally posted a career-high 62 assists, while Sarah Eggert contributed 33 digs. Ladwig and Alli Briner each had a pair of service aces.

The Cardinals pulled ahead after a hotly-contested first set against Wisconsin-Whitewater (19-6), overcoming a set point and scoring four of the final five points to pull off a 28-26 victory. The Warhawks responded by taking the second set, 25-18, and led by as many as five points in the third set before the Cardinals rallied and scored the final five points on Harner's serve to win, 25-21.

The hosts then closed out the match with a decisive 25-13 win in the fourth set, scoring nine of the first 12 points and scoring seven of the final eight points to post the Cardinals' first win over a nationally-ranked opponent this season.

Harner totaled 18 kills, while Wright finished with 17 and Ladwig and Kedryn Orrison each compiled 11. Lally put up 43 assists, Eggert finished with 25 digs, and Lauren Pool led the Cardinals with five total blocks.

North Central travels to take on College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin rival Carthage College on Tuesday. Action at Tarble Arena is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.