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

DECATUR, Ill. (Mar. 29th, 2021) - Earning their sixth sweep of the season, the North Central College men's volleyball team never trailed in the contest and defeated Millikin University 3-0 on Monday night in the Griswold Center.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set thanks to a service ace from Gabriel Aguado. Putting North Central up by 10 was a kill from Kevin Braceros set up by Matt Nealon who racked up 10 assists in the opening set. Closing the set on an 11-4 run, the Cardinals won set one, 25-8.

Early in set two, Ben Pluskota used one of his four kills in the set to give the Cardinals an 8-4 advantage. North Central kept the momentum going by posting a 7-2 run capped off by an Aguado kill, set up by Nealon. The Big Blue made a run of their own, but Pluskota secured the win with a kill off of the hands of Samuel Kharasch, 25-18.

In a back-and-forth final set, a kill from Ben Williams gave North Central the slight 7-6 lead. Hayden Coday recorded his first kill of the night to put the Cardinals up by two, 14-12. With neither team gaining much ground, North Central won the final two points of the set to secure the victory, 25-22.

On the night, Williams led the way with 10 kills over the three sets while Pluskota tallied seven and Aguado added six. The Cardinals dished out 35 assists as Nealon had 19 and Luke Schmidt had 14. As a team, they hit .342 and held Millikin to .089 for the contest.

The Big Blue were led by Jakob Henderson and Cristobal Gonzalez who each posted seven kills while Robbie Maida totaled 23 assists. 

North Central hosts Augustana looking to avenge a loss to the Vikings earlier in the season. Senior night festivities will also take place prior to the contest at 7:00 PM. You can find links for full in-game coverage HERE.

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