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

Box Score

NAPERVILLE, ILL. (Feb. 22, 2020) - The North Central College men's volleyball team pushed their win streak to seven overall and three within the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin on Saturday, wiping out the Greenville University Panthers in three-straight sets inside Merner Fieldhouse.

The first set was close for the majority, with the Cardinals never increasing their lead above four until late. With the score tied at 12, the Cardinals went on a 6-0 run to push the score to 18-12, with Casey Hiller sparking the run with two block assists and one kill. A timeout by Greenville (1-10, 0-2 CCIW) slowed the bleeding at that point, but the damage was done, with the Cardinals finishing out the set to the tune of a 25-16 score. Jared Moser led the Cardinals in kills in the first with four, while Jason Eslinger and Justin Curtis recorded three a piece.

Despite ending the first on a high note, the Cardinals were unable to keep the momentum going in the second set, with Greenville putting up a good fight and leading at certain points. North Central proved to be too much for the Panthers though, ending the second set by a 25-20 tally to take full control of the match. Eslinger was the driving force in the set, recording eight kills on 11 attempts with only one error. 

Once again in the third the Panthers were able to fight to keep the score close, although the Cardinals were able to lead throughout and finish the contest off with a 25-19 tally. Moser was the star of the third, racking up five kills on eight attempts. Matt Nealon took over the setting duties and recorded 12 assists while also getting two kills of his own.

Overall, Eslinger had 13 kills to pace the Cardinals, while Moser had 11 and Curtis added six. Michael Trunzo led the team in assists while only playing two sets, recording 25. Kevin Braceros was at the top of the box score in digs for North Central, recording eight, while also adding five kills.

The Cardinals play in their first away CCIW match on Wednesday, traveling to Kenosha, Wis. to take on #12 Carthage College. Click HERE for live stats and HERE for live video of the contest.