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

Box Score

Sept. 20, 2016 – The North Central College women's volleyball team set themselves up nicely to knock off 16^th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University with a first set win on Tuesday, but the Titans proved why they are ranked among the nation's best, coming back to win the final three sets in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) opener inside Gregory Arena.

The Cardinals came out on fire to open the match, jumping out to a 8-1 lead thanks in part to a pair of service aces off the hand of Julie Laugel, while Cara Howell added two kills during the rally.  North Central held a steady lead throughout and cruised to a 25-13 win, finishing the set with 13 kills to six errors, while the Titans finished with a -.083 attack percentage in the set.

The Illinois Wesleyan attack came alive during the second set, finishing with 12 kills to five errors, while the Cardinals committed 10 attack errors.  The turning point in the set came with the score knotted at 11, as the Titans (9-1, 1-0 CCIW) went on the set's pivotal run, a 9-0 rally highlighted by three straight kills from Kyleigh Block, while three Cardinal attack errors further hurt North Central's attempt at a second set win.

North Central (8-5, 0-1 CCIW) held strong through the midway point of the third set, but the offense once again struggled to find their groove late, as Illinois Wesleyan closed the set on a 11-3 run to claim the set 25-17.  The North Central offense hit just .086 over the set, while the Titans finished with a .217 attack percentage, committing just three errors.

With the Titans holding a commanding 23-17 lead late in the fourth set, the Cardinals looked all but out of it, however four straight Cardinal points closed the gap 23-21.  The Titan lead proved to be insurmountable however, as Tyler Brown recorded two kills over the final two points to secure the set and match win for the Titans.

The Cardinals led the Titans in every category offensively, but were doomed by 27 total attack errors on the evening. Howell led all players with 14 kills on the evening, while Laugel also finished in double-figures with 10.  Val Hunt dished out a match-high 24 assists, while Alexa Zimbelman added 15.  Defensively, Olivia Hanley led the way with 20 digs while Howell added 11.

Brown led the Titan attack with 13 kills, while tying Block and Alexa Cornish for the team-lead with 12 digs on defense.  Colleen Rynne recorded a team-leading 19 assists, while Kira Jackson dished out 13.

North Central continues a stretch of five-straight home matches on Saturday, Sept. 24, playing host to Ripon College and Illinois Institute of Technology in the North Central Triangular, kicking off play against Ripon at 11 a.m.  The link to live in-game statistics is available HERE.