Contact: Ben Nordman, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

Box Score

NAPERVILLE, ILL. (Jan. 23, 2020) - The North Central College men's volleyball team opened up their season on Thursday with a close, five-set match against Aurora University in Merner Fieldhouse, ultimately falling to the Spartans by a 3-2 final tally.

The Cardinals found themselves up early with a dominant showing in the first set. Jason Eslinger led the team to a dominant 25-14 final in that set, recording five kills, while Jared Moser had three kills to go along with three service aces.

Aurora found their legs after the first though, taking the next two sets by a 25-18 final and a 27-25 final to go up 2-1, looking to end the match going into the fourth set. The Cardinals would deny the Spartans the victory in the fourth, taking it by a 25-21 tally in a back-and-forth battle to force the fifth and final set of the evening. Eslinger and Moser again provided the offensive spark through the set, with the two combining for 14 of the Cardinal's 15 kills. 

The Spartans jumped out to an early 3-1 lead, using that momentum to a carry them to a 15-8 victory in the deciding set to gain a 3-2 match victory over North Central. Thomas Kovanic led the way for Aurora in the final set, recording three kills.

The Cardinals were led throughout the match on the offense by Eslinger and Moser, who recorded 22 and 16 kills, respectively, while Michael Trunzo recorded 38 assists on the night. On the defensive side, Justin Curtis had four block assists and one solo block and Samuel Kharasch led the team with 13 digs. Moser also had a game-high four service aces, while Matt Nealon recorded two for the Cardinals.

Eslinger's 22 kills marks a new program record for single-game kills in any match, besting Jake Braceros' 21 in 2016.

Aurora was led by Kovanic in kills with 19 on the evening, while James Karwin led the team in both digs (nine) and assists (41).

The Cardinals look to convert on their first win of the 2020 campaign again on Tues., Jan. 28, taking on Concordia University Chicago at 7 pm inside Merner Fieldhouse. Click HERE for live stats and HERE for live video of that contest.

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