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

CHICAGO, Ill. (Sept. 4th, 2021) - Competing on the road for the first time this season, the North Central College women's volleyball team took down Illinois Institute of Technology in straight sets on Saturday afternoon inside of Keating Sports Center to advance to 2-0 on the season.

The Cardinals used a kill from Katie Little to cap off a 4-0 run early in the set as North Central took an 8-5 lead. After the Scarlet Hawks tied it up at eight apiece, another kill from Little sparked a 7-1 run. Later in the first set, a kill from Abbi Barickman pushed the score to 17-11 and propelled the Cardinals into a first set victory, 25-20.
 
In the second set, Amber Vande Hei sent home the first Cardinal point off an assist from Maddi Barickman. Following back-and-forth play from both sides, the set was knotted at 10. To break the tie, Isabelle Guerrero scored her second kill of the set to begin a 6-1 run for the Cardinals. North Central closed the set by scoring seven of the final eight points to secure set two, 25-18.

In what would end up being the final set of the match, North Central jumped out to a 7-0 lead early in the third set. A kill from Sarah Elischer followed by an ace from Caludia Huston put the Cardinals in front 14-6. To close out the match, Trinity Evans recorded back-to-back aces as North Central won the final set 25-21.

Vande Hei led North Central in kills with seven, followed closely by Guererro with six and Kendra Battle with four in a well-rounded team effort. M. Barickman tallied 16 assists while Anna Gawron posted 12. As a team, the Cardinals hit .186 and held IIT to .105. For the Scarlet Hawks, Briar Moore and Emily Graham each had 10 kills in the contest. Grace Reckamp and Allison Wilkins both dished out 10 assists.

North Central hosts the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament which begins on Friday. The Cardinals face Alverno College at 3:00 PM before taking on Central College at 7:00 PM. You can find links to full in-match coverage HERE.

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