Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
RIVER FOREST, Ill. (Sept. 24, 2022) - Already tying their win total from a season ago, the North Central College women's volleyball team improves to 7-3 with a 3-0 win over Dominican University in a non-conference match on Saturday afternoon at Igini Sports Forum.
The Cardinals' first ace of the match came from Abbi Barickman as they took a 7-4 advantage early in the first set. Katie Little posted her first kill of the day as North Central scored five of the next six points to extend their lead to 13-8. An 8-2 rally from the Cardinals, capped off by an Amber Vande Hei kill, she secured the opening set victory, 25-15.
Scoring the first three points of set two, Vande Hei added to her kill total before a kill from Kendra Battle put the set at 7-3. Each team traded points midway through the set, but a 5-0 run from the Cardinals gave them a 17-9 edge. The Stars fought back but a kill from Abbi Barickman clinched the second set with a 25-23 victory.
A 4-0 rally from North Central early in the third set gave the Cardinals a slight 7-6 advantage. Aleesa Andresen's service ace gave North Central their lead back after Dominican went on a run. Both teams went back-and-forth as a kill from Aidan Brown put the score at 22-21 with North Central on top. Back-to-back kills from Battle followed by another Brown kill finished off the third set with a 25-22 win and a 3-0 victory as they improve to 7-3.
Posting a .288 hitting percentage on the day, the Cardinals tied their season-best offensive attack so far this season. Vande Hei and Abbi Barickman notched 11 kills with Maddi Barickman totaling 37 assists. Emily Stallmann recorded 21 digs while Sarah Elischer posted five block assists.
The Cardinals return to conference action on Tuesday as they face Elmhurst University at 7 p.m. inside of R.A. Faganel Hall.
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