Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, tkgallisath@noctrl.edu

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (Feb. 18, 2023) - In their final match of the California Lutheran University Tournament, the North Central College men's volleyball team fell to the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen 3-0 on Saturday.

The Cardinals (8-3) trailed early in the first set as Cal Lutheran (10-6) quickly moved to a 12-5 lead. North Central managed to put together three straight points to bring the score within four at 13-17. The Kingsmen shut down the Cardinals' offense in the first set with 14 blocks to take set one 25-19.

Set two saw 16 tied scores and four lead changes as the Cardinals nearly traded point-for-point with the Kingsmen. As Jared Moser tied the score at 23-all, Cal Lutheran utilized a Cardinal attack error and a final kill to take set two 25-23. 

The third set saw the Cardinals take an early 3-0 lead thanks to kills by Moser, Jake Miller, and Jeremy Cardenas. After a four-point run put North Central ahead 9-3, Cal Lutheran quickly answered back with six-consecutive to tie the score at 10-all. Cardenas put North Central in a great position with a kill and two block assists alongside Tyler Donovan and Austin Scott to bring the Cardinals to a 24-22 set point. Cal Lutheran finished with four-straight points to take the set win 26-24.

Moser and Cardenas led the Cardinals with 13 points each while Cardenas also led with five blocks. Donovan had 38 assists and Miller had a team-high of eight digs. 

The Cardinals head home for their next match versus Trine University on Wednesday, Feb. 22. The match is set to start at 7 p.m. inside Gregory Arena. 

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