Contact: Drew Sauer, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
Maranatha Baptist Box Score
Concordia-Chicago Box Score
RIVER FOREST, Ill. (Sept. 5, 2017) – Opening the 2017 season on a high note, the North Central College women's volleyball team finished 2-0 at the Concordia University Chicago Quad, shutting out Maranatha Baptist University, 3-0 in the opener before taking down the host Cougars, 3-1 in the nightcap.
The Cardinals (2-0) rolled from the opening serve in the first set against Maranatha Baptist (3-2), jumping out to a 9-1 lead highlighted by three kills from
Julie Laugel, while
Anna Billman also added a pair during the rally.
North Central continued to push the pressure on offense, extending the lead to double digits 19-9 midway through the set, as back-to-back kills from Laugel forced a Sabercat timeout. The Cardinals went on to score the final three points of the set to close out the win 25-13, capped off by a pair of attack errors by Maranatha Baptist.
The second set was a back-and-forth battle until North Central broke a 18-18 tie with three straight points, as
Sarah Geosling and
Alexa Zimbelman teamed up to record two straight blocks while Billman sent home a kill to give the Cardinals a 21-18 lead.
After a kill drew Maranatha Baptist to within two points of the lead, the Cardinals finished off the set scoring four of the final six points, including a set-wining kill from Laugel off the assist from Zimbelman.
With set three knotted 9-9 midway through, the Cardinal offense came alive to score seven of the next eight points to open up a 16-10 lead as Laugel recorded two more kills, while Howell and
Olivia Hanley each added service aces.
The Sabercats did not go down without a fight however, clawing back to score six straight points and once again tie the set 16-16, but North Central was not to be denied, ending the set on a 9-4 run, capped off with kills from Laugel and Howell.
Laugel paced the Cardinal offense in the opener with 16 kills, hitting at a .367 clip.
Cara Howell added a double-double finishing with 10 kills and 10 digs on defense, while Hanley led the way with 12 digs and
Rachel Elshoff added 10. Zimbelman dished out a match-high 36 assists, while also leading the team with four total blocks.
After a short layover between matches, the Cardinals struggled to get anything going offensively in the opening set but managed to fight back and tie the score at 23 late. The Cougars (3-2) mounted the set's pivotal rally however, scoring back-to-back kills to take the opening set 25-23.
North Central rebounded nicely in set number two, holding the advantage a majority of the set including a 21-19 lead late when Zimbelman rattled off three consecutive service aces to quickly end the set 25-19.
Carrying that momentum into the third set, the Cardinals scored the set's first point on a kill from Elshoff and maintained the lead the remainder of the set. After opening up its largest lead after a service ace off the hand of Laugel gave North Central a 23-16 advantage, the Cardinals went on to secure the set 25-20 and take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Cardinal offense out-hit the Cougars .481 to .071, finishing the set with 16 kills to just three errors.
Holding a slight 12-11 lead halfway through set four, the Cardinals caught fire and ended the match on a 13-3 run as four Cardinals recorded a kill down the stretch, while Hanley and
Reagan Raymer each scored service aces.
Elshoff led the way with 17 kills against the Cougars, hitting .394 on the evening, while also adding 11 digs on defense. Howell finished with 16 kills while hitting an outstanding .419 and also recorded 12 digs. Zimbelman once again led all players with 39 assists, while leading the team with 14 digs.
North Central held a 95-62 margin in kills over the two matches, while recording 17 service aces to their opponents four.
The Cardinals are back in action on Friday, Sept. 8, traveling to the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Invitational, taking on Anderson University at 6 p.m. (ET) and Illinois College at 8 p.m. (ET).
