Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, tkgallisath@noctrl.edu

Jan. 21, 2023 - The North Central College men's volleyball team hosted Wittenberg University and the Illinois Institute of Technology for a triangular meet where the Cardinals swept both matches 3-0 over Family Weekend.

North Central faced Wittenberg in its first match of the day, cruising to a 4-0 lead early in set one. With Austin Scott at the service line, the Cardinals went to work on an eight-point scoring run that featured a pair of kills each for Jake Miller and Jared Moser to bring the score to 19-8. Following a three-point possession for the Cardinals, another kill by Miller sealed the first-set win 25-12. 

The Tigers came back firing in set two with a back-and-forth lead until two kills by Moser and a service ace by Tyler Donovan helped North Central pull ahead 8-5. Despite Wittenberg's best efforts, the Cardinals never let the score get within two. A kill by Scott set Carson Skalbeck up at match point where a clutch service ace claimed the set victory, 25-22.

Miller and Scott set the momentum for set three with back-to-back kills for the early 2-0 lead. The Cardinals had two four-point streaks in set three, quickly bringing the score to 21-14. The Tigers took advantage of Cardinal errors late in set three but with North Central at match point, a Wittenberg service error gave the Cardinals the final point to take the set at 25-18. 

Moser totaled 17 kills in the match against Wittenberg followed by Miller with 11. Donovan had 34 of the Cardinals' 38 assists while Jeremy Cardenas locked in with six blocks.

Coming off of a 3-1 loss to Wittenberg, the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks were plagued by errors in their first set against North Central. Five of the Cardinals' first seven points were the result of Scarlet Hawk errors as North Central found itself ahead 7-2 early in set one. A pair of kills by Scott and another by Cardenas extended North Central's lead to 15-8. Despite Illinois Tech's grit, a kill by Moser and a service ace by Gabriel Aguado secured the set one win 25-20.

Illinois Tech battled to stay within two for much of the second set and ultimately brought the score even at 19-19 with a trio of Scarlet Hawk kills. Trading points for the remainder of the set and into extra points, North Central finally came out ahead 27-25 thanks to back-to-back kills by Moser and Ben Williams. 

Despite Illinois Tech taking an early lead in set three, Cardenas flipped the script with a pair of kills to take the lead 4-2. North Central maintained its lead throughout set three and with a four-point rally, the Cardinals found themselves up 18-11. As errors continue to loom for the Scarlet Hawks, North Central's Cooper Lundal denied Illinois Tech's final point attempt, securing the Cardinal victory 25-18.

Moser picked up another nine kills against Illinois Tech followed by Cardenas with seven. Cardenas totaled three blocks while Donovan had 26 assists.

North Central travels the short distance to Aurora University for their next non-conference match. The Cardinals and Spartans will face off at 7 p.m. at the Thornton Gymnasium.

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