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

Box Score

Sept. 15, 2017 – Originally scheduled for two matches this evening at the North Central College Quad, the women's volleyball pulled out a marathon of a first match over Loras College, 3-2, before the second match of the night against Benedictine University was postponed due to excess moisture on the court.

The opening set against Loras was a back-and-forth nail biter until three straight Duhawk points broke a 19-19 tie, forcing a Cardinal timeout in the process.  The Cardinals responded with a kill from Julie Laugel, followed by a Loras attack error, while a service ace off the hand of Olivia Hanley drew North Central back to within one, 23-22.

The Cardinal momentum ended there however, as a kill from Loras' Kayla Kinney and a bad set by North Central on the following point gave the Duhawks a 25-22 first-set victory.

Set two was all North Central as a 6-1 Cardinal run midway through increased the lead 17-9.  The Duhawks kept handing North Central points, committing 10 attack errors while hitting -.214 during the set, allowing the Cardinals to run away with a 25-12 win.

In a seemingly endless third set that featured five set points, North Central had a chance to close out the set holding a 27-26 lead, but a kill from Michelle Budden knotted the score at 27 all before two North Central errors cost the Cardinals the set 29-27.

Down 2-1 in the match, the Cardinals jumped out to an early 9-3 lead in the fourth to force a Loras timeout, but that lead quickly vanished over the next 13 points as the Duhawks went on a 11-2 run to turn the tables and regain the lead 14-11.

Following a North Central timeout, the two teams traded points before a huge block from Sarah Geosling and Anna Billman sparked a short rally featuring back-to-back kills from Cara Howell as North Central overtook the lead yet again 16-15.

Loras managed to tie the score once again at 18 apiece, but consecutive kills of the hand of Laugel started a 7-2 Cardinal run, capped off by a Duhawk attack error, sending the match to a winner take all fifth set.

The final set was close early as North Central held a slim 8-7 advantage but all that quickly changed as Laugel sent home another kill, while Billman stuffed an attempt from Jackie Alberto the next play.  Following a Loras timeout, Laugel served up a pair of beautiful service aces to force the final Duhawk timeout and all but put the match out of reach.

The closest Loras would come to the lead was three points down the stretch, as kills from Maya Bryant and Rachel Elshoff finished off the Duhawks, 15-10 to complete the comeback victory.

Howell paced the Cardinal offense with 15 kills on the evening while also recording 10 digs on defense.  Laugel finished with 13 kills, 17 digs and a team-leading five service aces, while Bryant dished out a match-high 38 assists.  Hanley led the Cardinal defense with 20 digs, while Billman and Geosling each finished with five total blocks.

Loras was led by Budden's 11 kills, while Paige Griffith finished with 36 assists and 10 digs.  Defensively, Haley Bergan led the team with 32 digs, while Reilly Kuhn added 14 digs and four service aces.

The night's second match with Benedictine was postponed due to excess moisture on the court and will be made-up at a later date to be announced.

North Central kicks of College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. inside the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois.  Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.