Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

WHEATON, Ill. (Oct. 2, 2021) - Continuing College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) play, the North Central College women's volleyball team fell to the hands of Wheaton College in four sets on Saturday afternoon inside of King Arena.

Early in the opening set, a kill from Amber Vande Hei brought the Cardinals within two, 8-6. Following back-and-forth action, the Thunder won five straight points to extend their lead to eight, 19-11. Despite two kills from Isabelle Guerrero down the stretch, Wheaton went on to win set one, 25-14.

The Thunder jumped out to a 7-0 advantage to start the second set. North Central clawed their way back in as a kill from Claudia Huston closed the gap to four, 10-6. After a four-point swing from Wheaton, Abbi Barickman's kill sparked a rally with the Cardinals winning five of the next seven points to bring the score to 19-15. The Thunder responded by closing out the second set to win, 25-16.

Looking to gain the momentum back, North Central began the third set with a 7-2 lead. Wheaton fought back to tie the contest at 13-13 before the Cardinals answered with three points of their own, as Emily Stallmann's ace gave North Central a 16-13 edge. After the Thunder took a 21-20 lead, the Cardinals won five of the final seven points with a kill from A. Barickman securing the third set for North Central, 25-13.

A kill from Kaitlyn Boelter-Eberhardt put the Cardinals up 2-1 early on in the fourth set. After the Thunder went on an 8-2 run, A. Barickman's second kill of the set brought the Cardinals within four, 9-13. With tensions rising on each side, another kill by Boelter-Eberhardt stopped a 5-0 Thunder run, but it wasn't enough as Wheaton won the final set 25-16, and the match 3-1.

Boelter-Eberhardt and A.Barickman each totaled 13 kills on the match. Maddi Barickman dished out 25 assists while Stallmann recorded 17 digs. For the Thunder, Coleen Smith posted 12 kills with Marlee Anderson and Mia Staub each tallying 19 assists.

The Cardinals are back in action on Wednesday as they travel to Bloomington to face Illinois Wesleyan University (9-9, 3-1 CCIW). The match is set to begin at 7 PM inside of the Shirk Center. You can find links to live video and live stats HERE.

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