Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Oct. 6, 2023) - More than doubling the previous attendance program record, 904 fans showed out for the North Central College women's volleyball Rock the House: Live in Gregory Arena match as the Cardinals swept the Concordia University Chicago Cougars in front of a packed house on Friday night.
North Central racked up a season-high 11 service aces on the night as Taylor O'Malley notched four while Aidan Brown and Demi Carpio tallied three each. As a team, the Cardinals hit .348 while holding the Cougars to .080 on the night.
Abbi Barickman led the offense with 10 kills as Maddi Barickman dished out 33 assists over the three sets. Brown totaled 12 digs with Amber Vande High recording four total blocks.
A kill from A. Barickman sparked an 8-0 run for the Cardinals that consisted of back-to-back aces from Brown. Putting North Central ahead by 10, O'Malley used a kill from M. Barickman to make the score 17-7. Two straight aces from Carpio extended the lead to 20-7 as the Cardinals cruised to a 25-10 opening set victory.
With the second set knotted at five, the Cardinals used a five-point swing, capped off with an ace from Lauren Benson, to take a 10-5 advantage. Katie Little's kill began a 4-0 run to again double up the Cougars score, 14-7. The teams traded points until Kendra Battle scored a kill as North Central earned a 25-19 win in set two.
Looking for their seventh sweep of the season, a kill from Bande Hei gave the Cardinals a 6-2 edge early on in set three. Danni Moser's kill opened an 11-1 rally for North Central as the Cardinals secured the sweep with a 25-14 win in the third set.
North Central returns to conference play with a match at Wheaton College on Tuesday night. The contest is set for 7 p.m. inside King Arena.
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.
