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

Box Score

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Mar. 2, 2020) - Looking to bounce back from a small skid over the weekend, the North Central College men's volleyball came back in a big way in Brooklyn on Monday, taking down the top-ranked New York University in five sets.

The Cardinals got off to a strong start against the Bobcats (12-2, 3-1 UVC), jumping out to a 15-10 lead in the first set never looking back, controlling the set and winning by a 25-18 score. Jason Eslinger mustered five kills in the set to lead the team, while Jeremy Cardenas recorded three more blocks after being named the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) defensive player of the week earlier in the day.

NYU was not going to go down without a fight though, battling their way to a second (25-21) and third (25-18) set win to put the Cardinals' back up against the wall. North Central responded with ferocity, seeing their chance at beating the no. 1-ranked Bobcats and taking it, tying up the match with a fourth set win. Again Eslinger led the way along with Justin Curtis, with both seniors recording four kills in the frame.

With the match on the line, both teams responded in the fifth set, with a back-and-forth contest being decided after the typical 15-point win in the set. The Cardinals were triumphant in the set, taking home the biggest win in program history.

Jared Moser led the way for the Cardinals in kills with 17, while Eslinger was right behind him with 16. Michael Trunzo recorded 50 assists on the evening, while Cardenas got up to five blocks in the match. Parker Nelson led the way in digs for the Cardinals with nine.

The Cardinals (10-6, 3-1 CCIW) come back home on Saturday to take on their CCIW opponent Augustana College. Click HERE for live stats for the game and HERE for live video.