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

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Oct. 14, 2023) - Winning all three matches in the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament, the North Central College women's volleyball team swept Saint Mary's University (Minn.) and Trine University inside Gregory Arena on Saturday.

An ace from Maddi Barickman gave the Cardinals an early 4-3 lead in the first set as both teams went back and forth until a kill from Aidan Brown capped off an 8-1 rally for North Central. Saint Mary's battled back to come within one but a three-point swing kept North Central in the driver's seat. A Lauren Benson kill put the Cardinals ahead 20-14 as North Central earned a 25-17 first set victory.

A four-point swing early in set two pushed the North Central lead to three, 5-2. A kill from Lauren Benson made the score 9-6 before the Cardinals went on a 6-0 run, capped off by an ace from Taylor O'Malley. The teams traded points until Kendall Krueger served up an ace and Amber Vande Hei put the set away with a kill to give North Central a 25-18 win.

The third set was tightly contested as an Abbi Barickman kill began a four-point swing for the Cardinals. SMU battled back to retake the lead, 14-13. Down 18-16, Kendra Battle's kill sparked the North Central offense to take a 21-19 advantage. Two kills from Maddi Barickman kept the Cardinals afloat as their backs were against the wall, down 24-23. Kills from M. Barickman and Brown gave North Central a 25-24 lead before an ace from M. Barickman sealed the deal to give the Cardinals a 26-24 victory.

Multiple kills from Battle and A. Barickman, accompanied by blocks from Battle, A. Barickman, M. Barickman, and Vande Hei propelled the Cardinals to an early 12-3 lead over Trine in the opening set of the match. Back-to-back kills from M. Barickman followed by kills from Benson and A. Barickman secured the 25-12 set win.

After the Thunder stormed out to a 4-0 lead, the Cardinals returned with a 5-0 run to give themselves their first lead of the second set. A service ace from Benson put North Central ahead by three, 8-5. Battle tallied three quick kills as part of the Cardinals' 6-0 run as North Central doubled up Trine, 14-7. A late 8-1 run closed out the second set as North Central picked up another 25-12 win.

Looking for their third straight sweep, a Benson ace put North Central on top, 3-1. Following a 5-0 Thunder rally, a block from Vande Hei and A. Barickman knotted the contest at six. The teams traded runs as a kill from M. Barickman tied set three at 14-14. A kill from A. Barickman opened a 7-2 run to put North Central ahead by four, 21-17. Battle racked up two more kills as an O'Malley ace ended the set with a 25-20 win for North Central.

On the day, the Cardinals hit .283 while holding their opponents to a .090 hitting percentage. Demi Carpio averaged 5.17 digs per set to pace the defense. A. Barickman tallied 21 kills while Brown totaled 19. M. Barickman averaged 11.67 assists per set with O'Malley serving up six aces. Vande Hei and A. Barickman each recorded four total blocks.

Carpio, Battle, and M. Barickman were each named to the Tiffany Robinson Memorial All-Tournament team for their performance this weekend.

North Central returns to College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play on Wednesday as they travel to Kenosha to take on Carthage College in a pivotal conference matchup. That contest is set for 6 p.m. inside Tarble Arena.

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