Contact: Emily Zadny, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302 

Box Score

CINCINATTI, Ohio (April 7, 2018) – With the potential for hosting the 2018 Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) Tournament and a No. 1 seed at stake, the North Central College men's volleyball team remained cool under pressure and defeated No. 13 Mount St. Joseph University (17-6, 7-2 MCVL) on Saturday afternoon in three sets, marking the Cardinals' second win against a top-15 opponent this season and proving no match for its MCVL competitors, maintaining a 9-0 record in league play.

Going into the weekend's matches, Carthage College, Mount St. Joseph, and North Central were in contention for the No. 1 seed, but the odds were very much so in the Cardinals' favor. A sweep of both teams or a split would have clinched the top spot and hosting privileges for North Central and it was the best case scenario that played out for head coach Kyle Exline and his team.

North Central took the early lead in the first set thanks to kills from Brendan Crawford, Bozhidar Kolev, and Jake Braceros, putting the Cardinals up 8-4 and forcing Mount St. Joseph to take a timeout after Kolev served up an ace. Justin Curtis came out of the break with a kill off the hands of Michael Trunzo, followed by Kolev's second ace and a Lions service error. A kill from Kolev later in the set extended North Central's lead, 16-11, but Mount St. Jospeh rallied back and forced three attacking errors on the Cardinals to pull within two. The Lions' efforts were not enough as Crawford hit three-straight kills to sway the score in favor of North Central and lead to a 25-20 first set win.

Mount St. Joseph opened the second set with a kill from Jason Hascher, but Kolev and Nick Lilley went to work and helped put North Central ahead, 3-1. The Lions forced the Cardinals to make two offensive errors and took a brief 4-3 lead before North Central regained control and went ahead 9-7. It was Kolev and Lilley again later in the set that helped North Central start to pull away from the relentless Lions, as the pair contributed kills and an ace from Lilley. Ahead 19-11, North Central did not let up on its attack, adding kills from Curtis, Kolev and Lilley with the help of Trunzo before Jacob Zemba sealed the 25-17 win in the second set with a service ace.

The Cardinals knew that winning the next set would clinch the No. 1 seed for the post-season and lead to an unblemished league record and what was at stake heightened the energy on the court. North Central was able to force a string of errors against their opponents and kills from Lilley, Kolev, and Crawford would give North Central a 9-6 lead and force the Lions to take a timeout. The Cardinals continued to pull away as Anthony Kluzak and Curtis went up for a block and Lilley scored another kill to make the score 14-10. The closest Mount St. Joseph would get to a lead would be within one, but North Central held off its opponent's potential comeback with kills from Lilley and Jake Braceros before Kluzak went up for the final kill to mark the Cardinals' incredible MCVL run with a 3-0 win against another top-15 opponent.

Kolev tallied 14 kills in the team's victory and led the team with two service aces. Crawford added ten kills and Lilley had nine. Crawford, Lilley and Curtis each had two blocks and Samuel Kharasch was strong on defense with ten digs.

North Central (17-7, 9-0 MCVL) will host the 2018 MCVL Tournament, beginning Apr. 13 as the No. 1 seed. The Cardinals will play No.4-seed Loras College on Friday, Apr. 13 at 7:30 pm following the match between No. 2 Carthage College and No. 3 Mount St. Joseph University at 5 p.m. Live in-game coverage will be available HERE.