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

Apr. 6, 2022 - A match for the books, the North Central College men's volleyball team turned in a 3-1 win over the Loras College Duhawks at Wednesday's College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Semifinal match as head coach, Kyle Exline achieves his 100th career win and the program's first ever trip to the CCIW Championship match.

The Cardinals came out firing on all cylinders as kills by Jared Moser and Austin Scott moved the Cardinals into the lead 9-3. Two service aces by Moser helped the Cardinals to a five-point run to extend their lead to 19-7. As the Duhawks struggled to gain more than two-point possessions the Cardinals took set one 25-14.

Set two saw the Duhawks take the lead on a five-point run led by Cardinal errors. North Central battled back to even the score at 18-all but eventually fell to the Duhawks 25-22.

Kills by Moser, Jake Miller, and Nathan Jones right out of the gate in set three boosted the Cardinals to a 4-1 lead and they never looked back. Miller's kill secured the set three win, 25-20.

With the Cardinals up two sets to one, the Duhawks were forced into fight or flight mode. Set four saw 12 tied scores but with a pair of kills by Miller and a couple of Duhawk errors, the Cardinals put up a 22-18 lead late in the set. A kill by Corey Mayotte sparked the Duhawks into a three-point run but was cut short by Scott with his 11th and 12th kills of the night securing the set 25-23.

North Central was led by Scott and Moser with 13 kills each while Jeremy Cardenas was just behind them with 12. Matt Nealon led the Cardinals with 42 assists and 12 digs. Cardenas led with four blocks while Miller had three. Moser's three service aces boosted his single-season record to 32 which currently ties for the program record. 

Dorian Fiorenza led the Duhawks offensively with 11 kills while Corey Mayotte had nine. Joe Horn led with 34 of the team's 35 assists. Defensively, Patrick Mahoney led with six blocks while David Beach had six digs.

The Cardinals punched their ticket to their first-ever CCIW Championship match on Saturday in Kenosha, Wis. against the Carthage College Firebirds. Match time at the Tarble Arena is set for 7 p.m.

Download the free North Central Cardinals app, available for iOS and Android devices, to receive up-to-the-minute news, scores and updates on your favorite North Central teams. Click HERE for more information.