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

Box Score

Mar. 12, 2016 – The North Central College men's volleyball team got out to a slow start on Saturday against No. 11 Mount St. Joseph University and never quite recovered, falling by a 3-1 score as the Cardinals wrapped up a six-match home stand.
 
Mount St. Joseph (14-6, 6-2 Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League) came out strong in the opening set, as a 7-1 Lion run gave the visitors a 14-9 lead midway through the set.  The Cardinal attack could not find its rhythm in the opener, finishing with seven kills and seven attack errors in the set, as Mount St. Joseph cruised to the 25-16 opening set win.
 
North Central (3-15, 2-7 MCVL) bounced back nicely in the second set, as a kill from Jake Braceros gave the Cardinals a 18-14 lead and force a Mount St. Joseph timeout.  The Lions battled back to pull to within one point of the lead late 23-22, but a Lion service error and attack error sealed the deal for North Central, 25-23 to even the match score 1-1.
 
Holding a 10-9 lead midway through the third set, a 5-1 Mount St. Joseph run quickly turned the tables, giving the Lions a 14-11 while forcing a North Central timeout.
 
Mount St. Joseph carried the momentum out of the timeout, scoring four of the next five points to take a commanding 18-13 lead and went on to claim the set 25-18.  The Cardinals finished with more kills in the set, but the Lions were very efficient, hitting .526 over the course of the set, finishing with 12 kills on 19 total attempts, committing just two errors.
 
The Cardinals battled in the fourth set, but the Mount St. Joseph attack was just too much to handle, as the Lions finished with a match-high 17 kills in the final set to win 25-20.
 
Three Cardinals finished with double-digit kills, led by Bozhidar Kolev's 11, while Braceros and Jacob Zemba each added 10.  Raymond Kraus dished out a team-leading 35 assists, while Ben Cartwright led the team with nine digs defensively.
 
Alex Vohland paced the Lion offense with a match-high 16 kills, finishing with a .433 attack percentage, while Kevin Siemer added 11 kills and two service aces.  Nathan Herdeman turned in a match-high 44 assists, while Jake Neiheisel led the way with five total blocks.
 
North Central returns to the court on Wednesday, Mar. 16, traveling to Illinois Institute of Technology, with the match slated for 7 p.m.  The link to live in-game statistics is available HERE.