Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Oct. 3, 2023) - In a battle of teams with 2-1 conference records entering the match, the North Central College women's volleyball team fell 3-1 to Illinois Wesleyan University in a hard-fought match on Tuesday night inside Gregory Arena.
An ace from Kendall Krueger tied the opening set at 2-2 before the Titans jumped out to an 11-8 lead. A block from Maddi Barickman and Amber Vande Hei kept the Cardinals close as the score moved to 16-13. Abbi Barickman's kill capped off a 5-2 rally until Illinois Wesleyan closed the set out on a 7-3 run to hold onto a 25-19 win.
An 8-1 rally from North Central, led by two kills from Katie Little, put the Cardinals on top 11-6 early in the second set. The Titans responded with a four-point swing as a Vande Hei kill kept North Central in front, 14-12. The teams traded points until the score was knotted at 20-20 where the Titans finished set two on a 6-2 run to win 25-22.
Needing a third set victory to stay alive in the match, an ace from M. Barickman gave North Central a 12-6 advantage. Kills from Lauren Benson, Riley Clark and Little extended the Cardinal lead to 10, 19-9. Not going down without a fight, the Titans answered again with a 10-1 run before North Central scored four of the final five points to force a fourth set.
Both teams went back and forth as a kill from A. Barickman, set up by M. Barickman evened set four at seven. Following an Illinois Wesleyan run, the Cardinals responded with one of their own to bring themselves within one, 13-12. After trading points, a block by Clark gave North Central a one-point edge, 20-19. Not much was separating these two teams as a kill from Clark tied the set at 24-24 to extend the contest. The teams traded points until the back-to-back kills from Illinois Wesleyan secured the Titan victory at 29-27.
Leading the offense for North Central was A. Barickman who racked up 15 kills with Little's 11 on the night. M. Barickman dished out 37 assists while Aidan Brown tallied 12 digs on the night. As a team, the Cardinals hit .187 to the Titans' .219. Taylor French totaled a match-high 26 kills over the four sets.
The Cardinals host Rock the House night on Friday as they welcome Concordia Chicago to Gregory Arena for a 7 p.m. start. To learn more about Rock the House night, click HERE.
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