Contact: Drew Sauer, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324Box ScoreSept. 29, 2015 – Opening up College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play, the North Central College women's volleyball team took down Augustana College, 3-1 in front of its home crowd on Tuesday at Gregory Arena.
The first set was tight throughout as North Central's largest lead came when it held a 18-15 advantage, but down the stretch the Vikings trimmed the lead to just one. Leading 24-23 and holding set point, an
Amanda Walker block gave the Cardinals the all-important first set win 25-23.
Set number two was all Cardinals, jumping out to a 17-12 lead and forcing a Viking timeout, as Walker highlighted a four-point Cardinal rally with a block and a kill. The Cardinals (14-3, 1-0 CCIW) went on to claim the set 25-20, as the Vikings (7-7, 1-1 CCIW) struggled to get going offensively, finishing the set with a -.070 attack percentage.
North Central stumbled out of the gate in set three and never regained its momentum, as the Vikings quickly opened up a 6-1 lead and would go on to win the set 25-20.
Avenging its third set loss, the Cardinal attack came back with 14 kills on just 27 total attempts, opening up a 15-9 lead midway through the set to force a Viking timeout. The North Central attack was no match for the Viking defense however, gradually increasing its lead down the stretch, before
Jill Galovic ended the match with a service ace, clinching the final set 25-15.
Julie Laugel turned in a game-high 18 kills and three service aces, while
Cara Howell finished with 17 kills and 11 digs. Walker finished with a match-high six total blocks, to go along with 10 kills on only 17 total attempts (.588).
Laura Kluk ended with a game-high 50 assists, while defensively Galovic chipped in 27 digs.
North Central is back in action this weekend, heading to the Wheaton College Invitational, Oct. 2-3.
