Contact: Emily Zadny, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302
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Sept. 22, 2018 – The North Central College women's volleyball team saw an end to an eight-game losing streak on day two of the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament, rallying back from a 3-0 loss to Lakeland University earlier in the afternoon to prevail in a five-set battle against Maranatha Baptist University in the nightcap.

The Cardinals struggled against Lakeland (11-6), erasing their total kills with errors in the first two sets and hitting -.111 in the third set. Kaitlyn Boelter-Eberhardt led the team with ten kills while Sarah Geosling tallied eight. Three blocks each from Anna Billman, Kaylee Allensworth, and Geosling unfortunately could not hold off the Muskies' offense as the opponent recorded 37 total kills and denied the Cardinals with 18 blocks.

In the second match of the day, the Cardinals went up against Maranatha Baptist (8-8) and took an early 2-0 lead off of a kill from Kimberly Epker off the hands of Kiarah Horn before Horn came back with a service ace. Both teams traded points, soon tying 12-12 and the Cardinals pulled ahead with four straight points for a 16-12 lead. Unfortunately for North Central, the Sabrecats were not done fighting as Maranatha Baptist overtook the lead and the first set, 25-22.

The Sabrecats came out strong in the second set and the Cardinals soon found themselves on the wrong side of an 11-4 deficit. North Central took a timeout to regroup and answered with three straight points from Billman, an ace from Reagan Raymer, and a huge block from Claire Vrabec and Boelter-Eberhardt. But Marantha soon took back control and won the second set, 25-18.

North Central was not going to go down in three sets and the allure of a long-awaited victory proved guidance for the second half of the match. The Sabrecats took a 3-0 lead before giving up two errors and an ace from Boelter-Eberhardt put North Central ahead 5-4. Both teams continued to trade points, but when it came down to the wire, it was the Cardinals that come out on top, winning the third set off of a kill from Raymer, 25-23.

The fight continued in the fourth set, going 11 plays point for point. Back-to-back kills from Raymer gave the Cardinals a small lead before two straight aces from Boelter-Eberhardt put North Central ahead 15-9. North Central was determined to wear out Maranatha Baptist, but the Sabrecats rallied from a 20-15 deficit to only drop the fourth set 25-20.

Maranatha Baptist was not thrilled to play a second five-set match after falling to Anderson University (8-8) in the previous game. For North Central, a five-set battle didn't phase them as their only win this season came in five-sets. Epker helped get the Cardinals fired up with three straight service aces while Maya Bryant, Billman, and Boelter-Eberhardt did their part on defense. In the end, three kills from North Central and forcing the Sabrecats to make an attacking error led to a 15-8 victory and the Cardinals' first win at home this season.

Boelter-Eberhardt led the team once more with 18 kills, six aces, and three blocks while Bryant added 31 assists in the win.

The Cardinals (2-12, 0-1 CCIW) take just over a week off from competition before their matchup against College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) foe Elmhurst College on Tuesday, Oct. 2. The match is slated for 7 p.m. inside R.A Faganel Hall and links to live coverage can be found HERE.