Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

NAPERVILLE, Ill (Feb. 24, 2021) - Facing their toughest task of the season, the North Central College men's volleyball team fell to the hands of No. 7 Carthage College on Wednesday night in Gregory Arena.

The Cardinals kept it close early in the first set as they found themselves up 12-8, but the Firebirds responded and closed the set out on three straight Matt Slivinski kills to take set one, 25-23. Looking to bounce back in the second set, North Central used an ace from Kevin Braceros to bring themselves within four, 14-10. Poised for a late rally, the Cardinals forced a Carthage error followed by an ace from Matt Nealon to jump start a potential comeback, but In the end, it wasn't enough as the Cardinals fell 25-21.

Early in the third set, back-to-back Cardinal kills put them up 8-6. Both teams battled throughout the set as a Jared Moser kill tied things up at 16.The Firebirds would then close the match out on a 9-1 run to take the final set. 25-17.

Moser led the Cardinals with nine kills and a .316 hitting percentage while the junior Nealon tallied 25 assists along with an ace and four digs. As a team, North Central hit .282 with 34 kills, and two aces.

For the Firebirds, Slivinski posted 18 kills along with Gene McNulty recording 37 assists on the evening. In total, they had 43 kills and a hitting percentage of .354.

North Central is back in action on Saturday as they host Millikin University at 3:00 PM in Gregory Arena. You can find links to live stats and video HERE. 

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