Women's Volleyball | 10/28/2014 9:32:00 PM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Drew Sauer, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324Box Score
ELMHURST, Ill. (Oct. 28, 2014) – Running into its third consecutive nationally ranked opponent, the North Central College women's volleyball team was undone at the hands of 16
th-ranked Elmhurst College in a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) matchup, Tuesday night inside R.A. Faganel Hall.
The Bluejays (26-6, 3-3 CCIW) jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead in the opening set and cruised to a 25-12 victory as the Cardinal offense struggled to get going.
The beginning of the second set started much of the same way for the Cardinals (18-11, 1-5 CCIW), as the visitors found themselves down 13-3 early.
Trailing 21-13, North Central found its stride behind stellar serving from
Claire Vrabec, as the freshman tallied five service aces and the Cardinals rallied to score eight straight points to knot the score at 21, but the momentum stalled the following point as Elmhurst rebounded to score four of the final five points and take the set 25-22.
With the third set tied 23-23, Vrabec gave the Cardinals a one-point lead with a kill and
Cara Howell finished off the set with a kill of her own, both set up by
Laura Kluk, giving North Central the 25-23, third set win.
North Central kept the fourth set close until the Bluejays broke it open scoring nine of ten points midway through, eventually taking the set 25-12.
The Bluejay attack proved to be too much to handle for the Cardinal defense, allowing a 50-31 ratio in kills. Elmhurst's Melissa Nava and Sam Szarmach finished with 14 and 11 kills, respectively while also adding 10 digs each. Vrabec and Howell each tallied seven kills for North Central, while Kluk added 25 assists.
North Central takes the short trip down the road to the Benedictine University Eagle Classic, Oct. 31-Nov. 1 as the Cardinals take on Dominican University at 2 pm on Friday, followed by the University of Chicago at 4 pm.
