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

ETBU Box Score

Colorado Box Score

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 31, 2018) – Opening the season at the Colorado College Classic, the North Central College women's volleyball team dropped a pair of matches, falling to East Texas Baptist University before suffering a defeat at the hands of the third-ranked, host Tigers in the nightcap.

The Cardinals (2-0) hung tough in the opener against ETBU, rallying for five-straight points to come back from a 21-17 deficit, as a ETBU attack error, followed by a service ace off the hand of Claire Vrabec drew North Central to within two.

Following a Sarah Geosling kill, Vrabec drilled home consecutive aces to give North Central a 22-21 advantage late in the first set.

A Cardinal service error however sparked a 4-1 run by the visitors, ending the first set 25-23 in favor of ETBU.

North Central bounced back nicely however in set number two, roaring out to a 6-1 lead behind three-straight service aces from Anna Cvetkovic, forcing a ETBU timeout.

From that point forward, the Cardinals never surrendered the lead, at one point opening up a 23-15 lead as kills from Geosling and Kaitlyn Boelter-Eberhardt sparked the rally.  North Central closed out the set 25-17 with points on a Tiger service error while Boelter-Eberhardt and Kimberly Epker teamed up for the set-winning block.

The Tigers took back the momentum in set three, as a 5-1 run midway through the set proved to be the turning point to take a 19-11 lead and would go on to win the set 25-20.

The fourth set was all ETBU, as the Tigers forced a North Central timeout early, jumping out to a 7-1 lead and never looked back, taking the final set by a score of 25-10.

Reagan Raymer paced the Cardinal offense with nine kills in the first match, while Boelter-Eberhardt added seven.  Emily Huprich handed out 20 assists, while Vrabec finished with five aces and Cvetkovic finished with four.  Defensively, Kaylee Allensworth and Katelynn Kuehl each finished with eight digs.

In the nightcap, the third-ranked Tigers of Colorado College opened the first set with a 5-1 run and led the rest of the way, at one point holding a 20-10 lead over the Cardinals.

North Central battled back in set number two, as a 6-0 run erased a 18-13 Tiger lead, highlighted by a pair of kills and a block from Geosling, while Boelter-Eberhardt and Allensworth also recorded kills to even the score at 18 apiece.

Colorado responded with a pair of points to take a slim two-point lead and would add on to hold a 24-20 advantage, but the Cardinals were able to stave off three-consecutive match points on kills from Raymer and Anna Billman, while the two teamed up on a block to draw the Cardinals to within two. 

It proved too little too late however for the Cardinals, as a service error ended the second set 25-22.  In the final set, the Tigers broke a 13-13 tie with three-straight points and held the lead the remainder of the match to claim a 25-17 third-set win.

Boelter-Eberhardt led the offense with 13 kills, while Billman added seven and Huprich yet again led the way with 15 assists.  On the defensive end, Kuehl led the team with 16 digs, while Allensworth finished with 14.

North Central returns to action tomorrow on day two of the Colorado College Classic, taking on Nebraska Wesleyan University and the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) tomorrow in Reid Arena at 1 pm (MT) and 3 pm (MT), respectively.