Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
WHEATON, Ill. (Oct. 10, 2023) - Returning to College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin play, the North Central College women's volleyball team dropped the league match to Wheaton College, 3-1, on Tuesday night in Gregory Arena.
The Thunder jumped out to an early 5-0 lead before Katie Little put the Cardinals on the board with a kill, setup by Maddi Barickman. A three-point swing featuring kills from Kendra Battle, Amber Vande Hei and Little kept North Central within five, 13-8. The teams traded points as another kill from Battle set the score at 21-16. Forcing a Wheaton timeout, kills from Danni Moser and Vande Hei cut the deficit to three until the Thunder put the set away with a 25-21 first set victory.
A kill from Riley Clark tied the second set at 5-5 early in the contest. The Thunder went on a 7-0 rally to make the score 12-6 before a block from Moser and Vande Hei put an end to the run. Abbi Barickman used a kill to begin a three-point swing from the Cardinals to bring them within four, 16-12. North Central was unable to break further into Wheaton's lead as they took a 25-19 set two victory.
Little gave North Central an early 4-3 edge until an ace from Aidan Brown highlighted a 7-1 Cardinal run to take an 11-6 advantage. Wheaton battled back to come within two points before another 7-1 North Central run closed the door on a comeback attempt as a kill from Little secured a 25-20 win in the third set.
After the Thunder opened the fourth set with an 8-4 lead, North Central tied the set at 10-10. Wheaton reclaimed their advantage, but again the Cardinals fought back to come within one point on a block from Kendal Franklin and Moser, 19-18. The Thunder scored six of the final nine points to earn a 25-21 win and a 3-1 match victory.
Moser led the Cardinal attack with 13 kills on 33 attempts with Clark right behind her at 12 kills. M. Barickman averaged 11 assists per set while also leading the team with 16 digs. The Cardinals hit .174 on the night to Wheaton's .232.
The Cardinals return to action on Friday as they host the Tiffany Robinson Invitational. North Central's match vs Crown College will also be senior night with festivities happening prior to the match.
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