Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
STEVENS POINT, Wis. (Sept. 23, 2023) - Closing out the Pointer Invitational, the North Central College women's volleyball team picked up their 10th win of the season as they bounced back from a loss to No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh with a 3-0 sweep over Lakeland University on Saturday.
The Cardinals used a kill from Lauren Benson to cut the deficit to four, 8-4 after the Titans stormed out to an early lead. Back-to-back blocks from Abbi Barickman and Amber Vande Hei set the score at 12-9 until Oshkosh used a 10-3 run to earn a 25-14 victory in set one.
A kill from A. Barickman, set up by Maddi Barickman, evened the second set at 4-4. North Central surged ahead with an 8-2 rally. An eight-point swing put the Titans back in front. Two kills from Kendra Battle down the stretch wasn't enough as the Titans took a 25-18 win in the second set. Another Battle kill evened the third set at 3-3 before Oshkosh scored nine unanswered points to take control. Danni Moser's kill put the Cardinals within four, 18-14 but the Titans again went on a run to clinch a 25-17 victory in set three.
Leading the offense for North Central was A. Barickman with eight kills while Little and Battle tallied five each. M. Barickman sent out 25 assists with seven digs as well. Riley Kindt paced the Titans with 16 kills over the three sets.
In their final match of the Invitational, North Central took on Lakeland. Moser gave the Cardinals an early 3-2 advantage with a kill, followed by a block from M. Barickman and Kendal Franklin to push the lead to 6-3. North Central doubles up Lakeland with a kill from M. Barickman, 10-5. The Muskies fought back to take a 16-15 lead and force a Cardinal timeout. Down to their final point, Riley Clark sent home a kill to tie the set at 24-24 before Benson delivered an ace followed up by a Lakeland attack error to secure a 27-15 win in the first set.
Much like set one, set two was a tightly contested battle as a kill from A. Barickman knotted the contest at eight. Benson put the Cardinals ahead by one, 12-11. Recording her fifth kill of the set, A. Barickman used a kill and an ace to even the score at 22-22. North Central scored the final two points thanks to kills from Moser and Clark to take a 25-23 victory.
The Muskies jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the third set before an 8-2 run from North Central cut into the Lakeland lead, 16-15. Both teams traded points deep into the set as a three-point swing tied the set at 24-24. Lakeland broke the tie before back-to-back kills from Clark and a kill from Moser secured the 27-25 win in set three and swept the match, 3-0.
Again pacing the offense, A. Barickman posted a match-high 18 kills with Moser tallying 11 and Clark recording 10. M. Barickman dished out 41 assists while Aidan Brown had a season-high 16 digs. North Central hit .248 and held Lakeland to a .142 hitting percentage.
The Cardinals return to College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin play on Wednesday as they visit Carroll University at 6 p.m. inside Van Male Fieldhouse.
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