Women's Volleyball | 9/13/2014 11:12:00 PM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Drew Sauer, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

Dubuque Box Score

Franklin Box Score

IIT Box Score

Aurora Box Score

AURORA, Ill. (Sept. 12-13, 2014) – The North Central College women's volleyball team finished 2-2 at the Aurora University Jim Coleman Classic over the weekend, suffering its first loss of the season in the opening match against the University of Dubuque on Friday, but bounced back with wins over Franklin College and Illinois Institute of Technology, before dropping the final match of the tournament to the host Spartans on Saturday afternoon.
 
In the opener against Dubuque, the Cardinals (11-2) couldn't get anything going offensively as North Central finished with just 24 kills to Dubuque's 39, ul  timately falling 3-0 (22-25, 20-25, 22-25).  Julie Laugel finished with a team-high nine kills, while Katie Connolly added 14 assists.  Defensively Jessie Fiala's 14 digs led the Cardinals, while Jill Gallovic added 11.
 
North Central responded nicely with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-21) shellacking of Franklin College in the nightcap on Friday.  The Cardinals finished with a total attack percentage of .325, compared to the Grizzlies (8-3) .011.  Once again, the offense was paced by Laugel's 12 kills and team-high two service aces.  Laura Kluk finished with a game-high 26 assist, while Fiala led the team in digs with 16.
 
In the first match on Saturday against IIT, the Cardinals cruised to a 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-13) victory thanks in part to nine service aces in the match as Kelly McGovern and Olivia Hanley each finished with three.  Claire Vrabec and Cara Howell paced the offense with six kills each, while Kluk added 26 kills.
 
In the finale the Cardinals squared up against host Aurora for the second time this season, but this time the Spartans (8-4) avenged a 3-2 loss to the Cardinals at the North Park Clash last weekend with a 3-1 (23-25, 18-25, 25-17, 18-25) victory this afternoon.  North Central's offense could not gather any momentum as the Spartans finished the game with 12 blocks.  Laugel finished with a team-high 11 kills and Kluk added 36 more assists to earn All-Tournament Team honors.
 
North Central plays host to Benedictine University and Lake Forest College in a non-conference triangular, Friday, Sept. 19.  The Cardinals take on Benedictine at 4 pm, followed by Lake Forest at 8 pm.