Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

Mar. 5, 2022 - Inside a buzzing Gregory Arena, the fourth-ranked North Central College men's volleyball team defeated the fifteenth-ranked Loras College Duhawks in a three-set thriller Saturday afternoon.

Set one saw both teams limited to two-point possessions but the Cardinals found themselves leading throughout the set. Back-to-back kills by Jake Miller and Jared Moser extended the Cardinals lead to 21-18 before Moser tossed in another two kills along the way to take set one 25-21.

The Duhawks stole the lead early in set two and maintained until point 15-13, where a kill by Jeremy Cardenas disrupted the Duhawks into four-consecutive attack errors putting the Cardinals ahead 17-15. Ben Williams led the Cardinals in set two with six kills helping North Central to a 25-22 set win.

With 21 tied scores and seven lead changes, set three quickly entered into extra points. With the set tied at 24, the Duhawks relied solely on Dorian Fiorenza in attempts to gain their first set win of the day but North Central dug into its arsenal finding kills by Cardenas, Nathan Jones, and Austin Scott to take set three 29-27. 

Williams led the Cardinals in kills with 11 while Cardenas was just behind with 10 kills and four blocks. Matt Nealon led in assists with 33 and matched with Moser and Parker Nelson for seven digs each.

The Duhawks were led by Fiorenza with 16 kills while David Beach had 32 assists and eight digs. Patrick Mahoney had the sole service ace of the match while Tyler Katochvil led with two blocks.

North Central heads to Decatur, Ill. on Wednesday for a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) match against Millikin University. 

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