Contact: Emily Zadny, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302
(Written by Allysson Schellhase, Student Sports Information Assistant)
Box Score
Jan. 19, 2018 – The North Central College men's volleyball team began the 2018 season on a high note with a 3-1 win over first-year program Aurora University (0-1) at Gregory Arena Friday night.
The Cardinals suffered the consequences of their own mistakes with ten attacking errors and three critical service errors. The mishaps, paired with a game low of .077 hitting percentage, led to the Spartans winning their first-ever set, 25-19.
The second set is where the Cardinals found some momentum which earned them a seven-point lead early in the set. A pair of kills from outside hitters Jacob Zemba and Jake Braceros contributed to the strong lead. Two service errors and attacking errors by the Spartans forced them into a timeout with the Cardinals leading the game 18-10.
The timeout gave Aurora some inspiration, gaining two kills from outside hitter Tim Breiter to narrow the gap 22-17. After a North Central timeout, the Cardinals finished off the set 25-21 with a service ace from Braceros and a kill from outside hitter Nick Lilley.
Going into the third set tied 1-1, the teams went point-for-point until Zemba served four in a row and put North Central in the lead 10-9. Aurora suffered three attacking errors and two service errors to give North Central another 7-point lead. The Spartans could not catch up to the Cardinals, only scoring three more points and dropping the third set 25-18.
After winning two sets in a row, North Central maintained the lead throughout the entire fourth set. Middle hitter Brendan Crawford stood out in the beginning of the match with two kills and one block. Spartan outside hitter Jack Fischer answered back with a pair of kills to make the score 10-7 but his efforts could not catch up to the Cardinals. Outside hitter Bozhidar Kolev obtained three consecutive kills in the end of the set, making the final score 25-17. The Cardinals attacking picked up with a hitting percentage of .484 that ultimately lead to a 3-1 victory over the Spartans.
Freshman libero Samuel Kharasch finished his first collegiate match leading all players with a game high of 11 digs while setters Raymond Kraus and Michael Trunzo gathered a combined 38 assists. North Central had a total of 12 team blocks with middle hitter Anthony Kluzak contributing eight.
The Cardinals (1-0) host their first triangular of the season on Saturday Jan. 20 against No. 5 New York University at 12 p.m. and Marian University at 5 p.m. at Gregory Arena. A link for live in-match coverage can be found HERE.
