Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Nov. 1, 2023) - In a match that decided the No. 6 seed in the upcoming College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament, the North Central College women's volleyball team fell in a five-set thriller to Elmhurst University on Wednesday night inside Gregory Arena.
The first set was tightly contested as a block from Kendra Battle and Lauren Benson gave the Cardinals a 6-4 edge. The Bluejays responded to take a 13-10 lead before a Demi Carpio ace opened a run of points for North Central to tie the contest at 14-14. A 5-1 run capped off with back-to-back service aces from Benson put the Cardinals ahead by two, 19-17. North Central scored six of the final eight points to take set one, 25-21.
North Central opened a 6-3 lead in the second set thanks to another ace from Carpio. Again Elmhurst battled back to take a 10-8 advantage. The Cardinals put together a 7-1 run with kills from Abbi Barickman, Aidan Brown, Battle, and Benson. Securing set two with a 9-2 rally capped off with a block from Benson and Barickman put the Cardinals up 2-0 in the match with a 25-15 win in set two.
A block from A. Barickman pushed the North Central lead to four, early in set three. With a 10-10 tie, the Bluejays posted an 8-2 run to take control of the set. The Cardinals fought back but could not bring themselves within five as Elmhurst won 25-18 in set three.
Again North Central jumped out to an early lead, this time a kill from Amber Vande Hei put the Cardinals on top, 5-3. Kills from Battle and A. Barickman broke an early tie before the contest became knotted at 13-13. Now down 21-16, North Central used a kill from Battle and a Bluejay error to come within three. Elmhurst scored four of the final six points to force a fifth and final set.
Elmhurst opened the fifth set by scoring the first three points before a kill by A. Barickman, set up by Maddi Barickman, sparked a 5-0 run from the Cardinals. A kill from M. Barickman, two straight Battle kills, and an ace from M. Barickman put North Central on top, 10-6. The Bluejays answered again to tie the set at 13-13. Elmhurst scored the final two points to win the match, 3-2.
Battle led the Cardinals with 11 kills while A. Barickman recorded nine. Vande Hei racked up eight blocks while Benson tallied four aces. M. Barickman dished out 31 assists and led the team with 17 digs.
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