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

Eureka Box Score

Alma Box Score

Sept. 1, 2016 – Opening the 2016 campaign on a high note, the North Central College women's volleyball team cruised past Eureka College, 3-0 in the opening match of the night, before downing Alma College, 3-1 in the nightcap.

Eureka (0-1) had no answer for the Cardinal attack in the opener, as North Central held a 44-22 margin in kills despite each team finishing with 94 total attacks.

With the first set knotted at 10 midway through, the Cardinals went on the set's pivotal run, a 7-1 rally to force a Red Devil timeout.  The Cardinal rally was highlighted by kills from Julie Laugel and Cara Howell, while Howell and Anna Billman teamed for a pair of blocks on back-to-back plays to cap the run.

The Red Devils drew back to within two, 18-16, but a kill from Ashley Powers and two more from Laugel increased the Cardinal lead back to 21-16, before Laugel finished off the set with a kill set up by Sarah Geosling six points later.

The second set was all North Central, as the Cardinals jumped out to an early 7-0 lead thanks in part to three Eureka attack errors, while Howell put down a pair of kill on the offensive end.

The Cardinals increased the advantage to double digits midway through the set, taking a 17-6 lead while forcing a second Red Devil timeout and easily held off the Eureka attack down the stretch, claiming the set 25-12.

Holding a 7-6 lead early in set three, the Cardinals opened the scoring margin with a 11-4 run over the next 15 points to take a commanding 18-10 lead, as Howell added three more kills and Annmarie Franz also notched a pair of kills during the rally.  North Central would hold off the Red Devils late, as Kaylee Allensworth put home the match-winning kill to seal the third set 25-21.

Howell finished with a match-high 18 kills, hitting .500 in the opener, while Laugel added nine kills and 10 digs.  Powers led all players with 34 assists, while Olivia Hanley led the way with 12 digs defensively.

North Central dominated the first set in the nightcap against Alma, 25-16, racking up a match-high 20 kills to Alma's five.  The Cardinals' spread the ball around nicely as six players finished with a kill, led by Laugel and Geosling each recorded five and Howell added four more.

The Alma attack came alive in set number two, finishing with a 18-12 ratio in kills while outhitting the Cardinals .342 to .222 to earn a 25-20 win, but North Central rebounded with a 25-17 win in the third set, thanks in part to a 10-3 run to end the set.  Holding a one point lead at 15-14, back-to-back service aces off the hand of Laugel jumpstarted the Cardinal rally, while four straight Alma attack errors did the Scots (0-1) in late.

Trailing nearly the entire fourth set, the Cardinals capped off the evening in dramatic fashion after staring a 13-6 deficit in the face.  An 8-1 run tied the score at 14 halfway through the set, as three Alma attack errors and two Cardinal service aces allowed North Central to regain composure. 

With eight lead changes and seven ties down the stretch, North Central finally powered past the Scots on the final to points of the evening, as Geosling set up match point with a kill and the Scots committed yet another attack error on the final point to give the Cardinals the 25-23 victory.

Howell finished match two with a double-double, once again leading the way with 11 kills while adding 11 digs on defense.  Powers also finished with a double-double, leading all players with 40 assists while adding 17 digs.  Laugel and Megan Bielawski each added nine kills, while Geosling chipped in eight and Hanley led the team defensively with 18 digs.

Alma's Dorothy Buening was the lone Scot to finish in double figure kills with 10, while tying Molly Lark for the team lead with 18 digs.

North Central is back in action tomorrow, taking on Alverno College in the opening match of the Ripon College Red Hawk Invitational beginning at 7 p.m. at Wyman Gymnasium.