Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Oct. 25, 2023) - In a highly competitive College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin match, the North Central College women's volleyball team won the opening set before falling in three straight sets to Millikin University on Wednesday night inside a loud Gregory Arena.
The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead as a block from Amber Vande Hei and Kendra Battle turned defense into early points. Taylor O'Malley served up an ace before kills from Aidan Brown and Abbi Barickman kept North Central on top, 7-4. Another Cardinal ace, this time from Demi Carpio opened an 11-3 run as an ace from Lauren Benson secured a 25-14 set one victory in which North Central never trailed.
Millikin jumped out to an early 10-3 lead forcing the Cardinals to take two early timeouts. Three kills from A. Barickman over a 5-1 North Central rally brought the Cardinals within four, 13-9. The team traded points as a kill by Battle made the score 23-20. Coming within two, Maddi Barickman recorded a block but the Big Blue scored two points to take a 25-22 win to even the match at 1-1.
Down 10-5 in the third set, A. Barickman used a kill to get the offense going as a block from Vande Hei and Battle closed the Cardinal deficit to two, 12-10. The teams went back and forth until another Block from A. Barickman and Vande Hei brought North Central within one. 17-16. A late 6-1 run sparked by a Battle kill gave the Cardinals their first lead of the set, 24-23. Millikin scored the final three points of the set to earn their second set win of the night.
Another block from Vande Hei put North Central on top, 8-7 in the fourth set. Millikin used a four-point swing to open up a five-point lead later in the set. The Cardinals battled back to even the set at 22-22 thanks to a 5-0 run. The Big Blue scored three of the final four points to take a 3-1 match victory.
Vande Hei racked up nine total kills which marks the second most in a CCIW match this season. Her five solo blocks rank first in the CCIW for a single match this season. A. Barickman totaled 17 kills with Brown tallying a season-high 16 kills. M. Barickman dished out 37 assists on the night with Carpio recording 23 digs.
The Cardinals take on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on Friday afternoon in a match held at Elmhurst University. The contest is set to begin at 4:30 p.m.
Download the free North Central Cardinals app for iOS and Android devices to receive up-to-the-minute news, scores, and updates on your favorite North Central teams. Click HERE for more information.
