Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Sept. 13, 2022) - Improving to 4-0 for the first time since 2017, the North Central College women's volleyball team tallied 13 aces on their way to a 3-0 sweep of Lake Forest College in the Cardinals' home opener on Tuesday evening in Gregory Arena.

The Cardinals' 13 service aces are more than they had in a match all of last season. Aidan Brown recorded 11 kills and 10 digs while Abbi Barickman sent home nine kills. Maddi Barickman dished out 30 assists with Emily Stallmann posting 18 digs over the three-set match.

The first set went back-and-forth as a Brown kill put the Cardinals ahead 7-6 early on. A Maddi Barickman kill sent North Central on a 5-2 run before the Foresters fought back to take a 15-13 advantage. The Cardinals responded with six of the next seven points to retake the lead and not look back. Brown's fifth kill of the set secured the 25-22 win for North Central.

Lake Forest jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the second set, but again the Cardinals answered as a kill from Brooke Duncan sparked a 6-1 rally to give them an 8-6 edge. Both teams battled as an attack error from the Foresters knotted the set at 15. A Brown service ace capped off a 9-2 rally before Abbi Barickman scored the final point of the match, giving North Central a 25-19 win.

Looking for their second sweep of the season, the Cardinals subbed in Taylor O'Malley who used three service aces in North Central's 10-0 run in the middle of the third set to push the lead to 14-6. Kills from Kendra Battle, Abbi Barickman, Duncan, and Emma Happ secured the 25-15 win in the final set.

As a team, North Central totaled 40 kills to Lake Forest's 21 while holding the Foresters to a .080 hitting percentage.

The Cardinals head to Wisconsin on Friday as they begin the Dig Pacini Classic hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on Friday evening. North Central faces Concordia University Wisconsin in the Williams Center at 7 p.m.

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