FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Elliott Carr, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302
 
Box Score

Mar. 16, 2016 – The North Central College men's volleyball team (4-15, 3-7 Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League) enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 victory over Illinois Institute of Technology at the Keating Center on Wednesday night.

The Cardinals would get out to a fast start, getting ahead 6-2 early in the first set. The Scarlet Hawks would eventually level the score 10-10, but that would be the closest they would get. A block by freshman Jacob Zemba, followed by a succession of ball handling errors from the Scarlet Hawks would see the Cardinals extend the lead 16-11, at which point Illinois would call a timeout. Following the timeout, a series of kills from the Cardinals, and more errors from the Scarlet Hawks would see the lead extended even further, until freshman Mateo Gonzalez put an exclamation point on the set with an emphatic ace, ending it 25-15.

The second set saw the Cardinals face a 3-7 deficit early, but they showed resolve to bounce back. Back to back kills from Zemba would see North Central eventually take the lead 13-12, and from there they never looked back. Freshmen Bozhidar Kolev and Jake Braceros would go on to dominate the remainder of the set, giving the Cardinals the 25-19 win.

The Cardinals would open up the third set eager to put the match away quickly, racing to a 6-2 start. They led comfortably throughout the set, with an ace from Sean Brzoska giving them a 21-11 lead, which proved to be insermountible for Scarlet Hawks. The set would end 25-17 in the Cardinals favor, capping of an all-around strong performance.

Kill leaders for the Cardinals were Kolev (eight), Zemba (six), and Braceros (five), while  freshmen Anthony Kluzak and  Raymond Kraus shared the team lead in blocks with three apiece. Kraus also led the team in assists, with 25, and freshmen Kevin Messer was the digs leader with seven, followed by Braceros with four.

The Cardinals will look to build off this win when they face Olivet College (1-15) in Olivet, Michigan on Friday. Play is set to begin at 7:00 p.m.  Live video coverage can be accessed by clicking HERE.