Jared Moser
3
Winner North Central (IL) NCC 8-2,5-2 CCIW
2
Benedictine (IL) BenU 8-1,7-0 NACC
Winner
North Central (IL) NCC
8-2,5-2 CCIW
3
Final
2
Benedictine (IL) BenU
8-1,7-0 NACC
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
North Central (IL) NCC 15 25 25 21 15 (3)
Benedictine (IL) BenU 25 21 22 25 9 (2)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

No. 13 Cardinals Stun No. 6 Eagles in 5-Set Thriller

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

LISLE, Ill. (Mar. 17th, 2021) - Facing one of the premier teams in the country, the North Central College men's volleyball team won a five-set thriller over previously unbeaten No. 6 Benedictine University on Wednesday night.

The Eagles jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in the first set before a Jake Miller kill brought the Cardinals back within a point, 12-11. Benedictine would go on to score the final nine points of the set to take the opening set, 25-15. Looking to rebound in set two, Jared Moser used one of his five kills in the set to give North Central a 7-3 advantage early in the second set. An Eagles service error sparked a 6-1 run for the Cardinals, giving them a 13-7 lead. Benedictine would not go down without a fight as they posted a rally of their own, but it wasn't enough as North Central took the second set, 25-21.

The third set began with back-and-forth action as neither team pulled ahead until the Cardinals went in a 5-0 rally that included one of Tyler Donovan's two service aces. Despite the Eagles' best efforts, North Central would lead the rest of the way to give themselves a 2-1 set advantage heading into the fourth set. 

Early in set four, a kill by Kevin Braceros gave the Cardinals a slight 7-6 edge over the Eagles. Both teams battled throughout the set as neither team would go ahead by more than three points until the final point scored by Benedictine to send the match into a winner-take-all fifth set.

North Central jumped out to an 8-3 advantage thanks to a Jeremy Cardenas kill, set up by Matt Nealon, and three Eagles attack errors. Not going down without a fight, Benedictine brought themselves within two points (10-8) before Jake Miller and Moser each recorded two kills as the Cardinals would take five of the final six points to win the set 15-9, and the match, 3-2.

Leading the way for North Central was Moser with 17 kills followed by Miller with ten. Nealon and Donovan split up the setting duties tonight as Nealon tallied 25 assists while Donovan posted 24. The Cardinals used 54 kills to earn their first-ever win in the Dan and Ada Rice Center.

For the Eagles, Jacob Grygo totaled 15 kills and an ace while Mike LeGros dished out 45 assists over the five sets. As a team, they posted a hitting percentage of .208.

North Central travels to No. 3 Carthage College on Saturday afternoon as they face the Firebirds looking to avenge a loss from earlier in the season. The match is set to begin at 1:00 PM inside Tarble Arena. Links for full gameday coverage can be found HERE.

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