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

Heidelberg Box Score

Gustavus Adolphus

ELMHURST, Ill. (Aug. 31, 2019) – Inconsistencies both offensively and defensively plagued the North Central College women's volleyball team on day two of the Elmhurst College Invite, dropping a 3-0 match to Heidelberg University in the morning before suffering a 3-1 loss at the hands of 18^th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College.

North Central (0-4) hit just .170 in the opening loss to Heidelberg, while the Student Princes hit over .100 points higher.  Heidelberg jumped out to a 4-0 lead early in the set one to force a North Central timeout and never looked back, holding the lead the entire set en route to a 25-19 win. 

Set two began much better for the Cardinals as Sarah Geosling and Madison Wright each recorded a kill while a Student Prince attack error gave North Central an early 3-0 lead.  Still holding a three-point lead 13-10 midway through the set, a seven-point Heidelberg run quickly turned the tables as multiple errors on the side of the Cardinals lead to the 17-13 deficit.

That proved to be all the leg room the Student Princes needed, closing out the set 25-20, while the third set featured much of the same difficulties for the Cardinal offense.  Heidelberg opened up a 13-8 lead midway through the third to force the second Cardinal timeout and rolled to a 25-18 win to finish off the sweep.

The Cardinals lost the reception error battle 6-1, as the lone Cardinal service ace came off the hand of Reagan Raymer.  Geosling finished with a team-high 10 kills, while Kiarah Horn handed out a match-high 31 assists.

Olivia Christian paced the Student Princes with 12 kills, while Anna McNabb led the team with 21 assists and Julianna Pena added 14. 

Things did not get much easier for the Cardinals in the nightcap against 18^th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus, as the offense hit just .049 including 10 attack errors in the opening set to fall 25-18.

Set two featured much of the same woes, as the offense hit only slightly better than the opening set at .061, committing eight attack errors to drop into a 2-0 hole with a 25-21 defeat.

The offense came around in the third set, posting a season-high 17 kills led by seven from Kaylee Allensworth and four from Kimberly Epker.  Facing a 21-17 deficit, the Cardinals rallied to score six of the next seven points to take their first lead of the set 23-22.

After a ball handling error tied the match at 23, a kill from Allensworth set up set point, before Epker completed the comeback with the set-winning kill off an assist from Horn.

Battling the fourth set to a 17-17 tie, Gustavus Adolphus went on the set's pivotal run, a four-point rally to take a 21-17 lead and eventually closed out the match with a 25-19 fourth-set win.

Overall the Cardinal offense hit .090 on the match and again lost the reception error battle 12-6, as the Gustavus Adolphus serve gave the Cardinals fits all match long.

Allensworth's nine kills led the team, while Raymer and Epker each added eight.  Horn finished with a match-high 33 assists, while also leading the team with 15 digs.

North Central returns to the court on Wednesday, Sept. 4, traveling to River Forest, Illinois to take on Concordia University Chicago at 6 p.m. inside Geiseman Gymnasium.  Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.

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