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

Box Score

Oct. 26, 2018 – Closing out the 2018 season on Senior Night inside Gregory Arena, the North Central College women's volleyball team suffered a heartbreaking 30-28 first-set loss to Wheaton College and never recovered, as the Thunder took the wind out of the Cardinals' sails the final two sets of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) finale.

North Central (3-20, 0-8 CCIW) fell behind 8-3 and were forced to take an early timeout in the opening set, but slowly chipped away at the Thunder lead as kills from Sarah Geosling and Claire Vrabec evened the score at 18.

After three-straight Wheaton points forced the second North Central timeout, the Cardinals rebounded to score five of the next six points and quickly turn the tables.  Kaylee Allensworth recorded a pair of kills during the rally, while Vrabec added a kill and a service ace to give the Cardinals set point 24-22.

Despite having five attempts with set point, North Central was unable to put the Thunder away and payed the price in the end, as two-straight kills from Wheaton's Colleen Smith scored the Thunder a 30-28 win.

The heartbreaking loss in the opener seemed to kill all the momentum for North Central, as Wheaton went on to hit .394 in the second set, finishing with 14 kills to just one attack error to take the set 25-16.

North Central also fell behind early in set number three, forced to take their second timeout of the set trailing 9-2.  The Cardinals battled back to pull to within two points of the lead 17-15, but the Thunder lead proved insurmountable in the end as Wheaton closed the match with a 25-18 victory.

Allensworth and Geosling each recorded nine kills to lead the Cardinal offense, while Vrabec and Kimberly Epker each added six.  Kiarah Horn handed out 24 assists, while Katelynn Kuehl and Geosling finished with 17 and 14 digs, respectively, to lead the defense.

The Wheaton (12-16, 1-6 CCIW) attack was led by 10 kills from Colleen Smith, while Deborah Smith and Madeline Moore each finished with eight.  Kelly Thornton and Marlee Anderson dished out 18 and 15 assists, respectively, while Jess Bosse paced the Thunder defense with 21 digs.