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

Mar. 26, 2023 - Hosting its second match of the weekend, the seventh-ranked North Central College men's volleyball team turned in a three-set victory over the Augustana College Vikings on Sunday inside Gregory Arena. 

The Cardinals remain atop the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) standings with their 18-3, 8-0 CCIW record while the Vikings fall to a 10-10, 1-6 CCIW record after today's match. Jared Moser led the Cardinals offensively with 13 kills and one ace while also tallying a block into his stat line. Tyler Donovan had 33 assists on the day with one service ace, one block, and seven digs. Defensively, Parker Nelson led with 10 digs and Connor Davis recorded the team high of three blocks. 

North Central advanced to a 10-5 advantage early in set one thanks to a pair of kills by Moser and another by Luke Schmidt to spark one of four three-point runs in the set. Five straight points extended the Cardinal lead 21-9 before Jeffrey McEachern scored to put North Central at match point in time for a Vikings error that gave the Cardinals the 25-12 set win. 

Set two saw Moser notch back-to-back kills followed by a Cardenas service ace to move to a 16-10 lead. With Donovan back to serve, a trio of Cardinals connected for four straight points putting the Cardinals up 20-11. Donovan dished one out to Davis to reach set-point before Augustana rallied for three-consecutive points. The Vikings dropped the set 25-16 at the hands of their own service error.

Despite the Vikings picking up the first two points and maintaining a short lead in the third set, the Cardinals looked to Davis to regain the lead as he scored on a kill and teamed up with Moser for a block that put the Cardinals up 5-4. Mitchell Hester snagged back-to-back kills to climb to a 13-8 advantage before a four-point rally saw the Cardinals up 17-9. After trading points with the Vikings at the end of set, North Central won the third and final set 25-16 on a Vikings service error. 

North Central takes a six-day break before traveling to Kenosha, Wisconsin for its penultimate match of the regular season against the Carthage College Firebirds. Match time in Tarble Arena is set for 3 p.m.

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