Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Sept. 15, 2023) - Taking on the Milwaukee School of Engineering for the first time since 2015, the North Central College women's volleyball team picked up a 3-1 non-conference victory on Friday night in Gregory Arena.

A block from Maddi Barickman and Amber Vande Hei opened the scoring in set one before a kill from Abbi Barickman knotted the contest at five. A 6-1 rally from the Cardinals capped off by another A. Barickman kill pushed North Central's advantage to three, 9-6. The Cardinals scored seven unanswered points to take control of the opening set, 19-10. Lauren Benson's kill, set up by M. Barickman secured a first set win for the Cardinals, 25-16.

Vande Hei's kill sparked a 7-0 run for North Central to open up the second set. With a demanding 11-1 advantage, Kendra Battle sent home a kill to extend the lead. An ace from Taylor O'Malley put the Cardinals up 17-7 before back-to-back kills from A. Barickman gave North Central a 25-11 set two victory.

Again the Cardinals stormed out to a decisive lead. A block from Katie Little and Kendal Franklin put North Central ahead 7-2. The Raiders fought back as the teams traded points until the third set became tied at 20. MSOE closed the set on an 11-3 run to take set three, 25-22.

The Raiders jumped out to a 7-3 lead before an A. Barickman kill halted the MSOE run. Down 16-9, the Cardinals scored four straight points to close their deficit to three, 16-13. Benson and A. Barickman recorded a block to tie the fourth set at 20. Scoring five of the final seven points, North Central captured a 25-23 victory in set four and a 3-1 win for the match.

M. Barickman dished out 43 assists while A. Barickman tallied a match-high 15 kills. Aleesa Zebold racked up 17 digs while O'Malley notched four aces on the night. The Cardinals hit .295 on the match while holding the Raiders to a .179 hitting percentage.

North Central returns to College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin play on Tuesday as they host Augustana College inside Gregory Arena at 7 p.m.

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