Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Oct. 20, 2023) - Improving to 10-1 inside Gregory Arena this season, the North Central College women's volleyball team earned their 11th sweep of the season by defeating Illinois College 25-27, 25-17, 25-23 on Wednesday night.
Down 7-5 early in the opening set, a kill from Aidan Brown capped off a 6-1 run for the Cardinals. After the Lady Blues tied the contest at 12, back-to-back kills from Abbi Barickamn and an ace from Lauren Benson sparked an 11-1 rally to put North Central in the driver's seat, 22-13. A Lady Blue attack error closed out the set as the Cardinals earned a 25-17 victory.
Keeping the momentum from the strong finish in the first set, kills from A. Barickman, Brown, Kendra Battle, and Amber Vande Hei opened an 8-0 lead. Maddi Barickman's first kill of the night gave the Cardinals a 14-5 advantage. Illinois hung around but kills by Brown and Battle late in set two secured another 25-17 win for North Central.
The Lady Blues jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the third set. Bringing the Cardinals back within three, a kill from Isabelle Guerrero made the score 14-11. North Central put together an 8-1 rally to take their first lead of the set, 22-11. A block from Vande Hei and Guerrero gave North Central match point as the Cardinals took advantage of an Illinois attacking error to complete the sweep, 25-23.
Leading the offense was A. Barickman who racked up 14 kills while hitting .497 on the night. Brown tallied 10 kills as M. Barickamn dished out 39 assists, the second most this season in a three-set match. Demi Carpio totaled 14 digs with Vande Hei recording three block assists and a solo block in the match.
North Central hosts Millikin University on Wednesday night as they return to College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin action. That match is set for 7 p.m. inside Gregory Arena.
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