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Box Score

PATCHOGUE, N.Y. (Feb. 29, 2020) - In the midst of the toughest portion of their schedule this season, the North Central College men's volleyball team fell twice in the St. Joseph's triangular, dropping matches to St. Joseph's – Long Island and #4 SUNY New Paltz, both in three sets.

In North Central's first match of the day, they faced St. Joseph's College – Long Island (10-5).

The Cardinals looked up to the task of taking down St. Joseph's in the first set, holding the lead multiple times but ultimately falling 25-21. North Central hit only 0.176 while St. Joseph's hit 0.355 for the frame. Justin Curtis and Ben Williams both recorded four kills in the set, leading the way for the Cardinals in the category.

Down 1-0, the Cardinals came out hot in the second set, getting the lead up to 11-6. The Golden Eagles then went on a furious run, going 19-5 to end the set, nabbing all the momentum. The Cardinals once again were cold on the attack, only hitting 0.125 for the set.

The third set was much of the same, with St. Joseph's jumping out to a lead and not giving in, taking the third set and the match by a 25-18 score.

Ben Williams led the team in kills for the match with nine on 16 attempts and no errors for a hitting percentage of 0.600. Jason Eslinger and Jeremy Cardenas recorded three blocks a piece on the defensive end while Parker Nelson recorded 10 digs.

After a short break, the Cardinals faced off against #4 SUNY New Paltz (12-3), the highest ranked opponent of the season thus far.

In the first set, the Cardinals fought hard and had a chance at pulling out the set win with the score tied 23-23. Two consecutive points by New Paltz put a stop to that chance though and took the first set.

The Cardinals went ice cold on attacking in the next set, hitting -0.042 through the frame and found themselves on the wrong end of a 25-18 tally to go down 2-0.

Fighting to make a comeback and steal the third set to get back into the contest, the Cardinals were able to hold a lead in the third set for a majority of the frame. The Hawks found some life down 19-18 though and were able to go on a run late to pull out a 25-22 win in the set to win the match in straight sets.

Jared Moser led the team with 12 kills and tied for the team lead in digs with five. Jeremy Cardenas recorded six block assists in the match, tied for the fourth most in a match in program history.

The Cardinals (9-6, 3-1 CCIW) take on the number one team in the nation in New York University on Monday, with match time set for 7 pm ET. Click HERE for live stats and click HERE for live video for the match.