Contact: Ava Yurchison, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

Box Score

FOND DU LAC, Wis. (Feb. 17, 2017)- North Central College men's volleyball team rallied behind freshman Brendan Crawford to defeat the Marian University Sabres in three sets Friday night.

The Cardinals opened the first set swift on the attack with a 7-2 run forcing a Marian timeout. Upon resuming play, North Central went on a 5-2 run which included four attacking errors by the Sabres and a kill from Crawford. Marian found some momentum themselves and brought the score within one-point, putting pressure on the Cardinals. North Central and Marian fought back and forth for the advantage until they deadlocked at 22. A kill by freshman Jason Eslinger, followed by a service ace on behalf of sophomore Jacob Zemba and a final service error from the Sabres closed out the set 25-22 in North Central's favor.

Set two began with the power shifting between the two teams. An attacking error from Marian and a Crawford kill from freshman Michael Trunzo gave North Central the upper hand and sparked a 7-2 point run for the Cardinals. North Central held the edge though, Marian displayed some resiliency closing the point gap, making the score 18-all. A kill by Eslinger gave North Central the lead by a four-point margin and a Marian timeout. Yet, the Cardinal's offense remained supreme and closed out the set 25-20 hitting .385.

With North Central up two sets, they entered the final set with an offensive mindset quickly building to a 10-4 lead. The Cardinals offense persisted as the dominant presence as they went on a five-point run late in the set bringing the score to 18-8. In an effort to find their own offensive trigger, Marian took a timeout. North Central's attack proved to be too much for Marian ending the set 25-14.

Crawford had a hitting percentage .769 with 11 kills while Trunzo handed out 19 assista for North Central. Four service aces also contributed to the Cardinal's win.

The Cardinals are now 6-4 overall and 3-3 in conference.

North Central gives Marian a chance at redemption as the two teams face-off again in the Cardinal's next match on Saturday Feb. 25 at the Keating Sports Center in Chicago, Ill. at 1p.m. Later that day, at 3 p.m., the Cardinals face Illinois Institute of Technology for the second time this season.