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

Anderson Box Score

Illinois College Box Score

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (Sept. 8, 2017) – Opening play at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Invitational, the North Central College women's volleyball team scored a pair of 3-0 wins over Anderson University and Illinois College on Friday, improving to 4-0 so far on the season.
 
In the opener against Anderson (2-4), the Cardinals clawed out a 25-22 win in the first set before cruising to a 25-16 victory in the second set to give themselves a 2-0 advantage.  The third and final set did not go as smooth as set number two, but nonetheless North Central pulled out a 25-23 win to secure the match.
 
Julie Laugel led the Cardinal attack with 15 kills, hitting at a dominating .407 clip, while Cara Howell recorded six kills on just 16 attempts, finishing with a .313 attack percentage.  With her 15 kills in the opener, Laugel moves into 10th place on the program's career kills list with 773.  Alexa Zimbelman dished out a match-high 32 assists, while Rachel Elshoff recorded three service aces and Olivia Hanley led the way with 14 digs on defense.
 
In the nightcap, the Cardinals trailed by eight points early in the first set to Illinois College (3-3), but mounted a late comeback to steal the first set 25-23.  The Cardinals proceeded to fight off the Lady Blues over the next two sets, winning by identical 25-22 scores.
 
Two Cardinals finished in double digit kills, led by Howell's 11, while Elshoff finished with 10 and a team-leading three service aces.  Maya Bryant led the team with 32 assists in the nightcap, while Hanley once again led the defensive effort with 14 digs and Howell also finished in double digits with 12.
 
North Central continues play tomorrow, squaring off against the host Fightin' Engineers at 11 a.m. (ET), followed by Momouth College at 1 p.m. (ET).  The Rose-Hulman match will be broadcast live with links available HERE.