Contact: Anna Fox, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, amfox@noctrl.edu
 
Jan. 26, 2024 - After a long, nerve racking match the North Central College men's volleyball team fell to No. 3 California Lutheran University 3-2.
 
The first set began with the two teams trading off point. However, at 17-14 the Cardinals started to pull away after a kill by Tyler Donovan led the team on a five-point run. The Kingsmen fought back to pick up a few more points before Jared Moser ended the set off with a kill (25-18).
 
Both teams fought long and hard for the second set with three lead changes and 10 tied scores. After a service error from the Kingsmen at 18-18, a kill from Luke Schmidt and a service ace from Donovan gave North Central a three-point lead. The Kingsmen were not ready to give up. They took advantage of Cardinal errors and earned four kills to take the second set 25-23.
 
The Cardinals were hot in the third set, pulling away with a 7-3 lead after scoring five straight points. Cal Lutheran trailed behind North Central until they earned three straight points to bring them within one (23-22). Benefiting from two service errors in the final three points, North Central walked away with the set (25-23).
 
The two teams kept the score tight in the fourth set before Cal Lutheran took off with a six-point run (17-10). North Central was not able to fight their way back, ultimately falling 25-16.
 
The fifth set saw nine tied scores as both teams tried to grasp the win. When the score hit 12-12 Ben Weber tallied three straight kills to give the Kingsmen the win (15-12).
 
Donovan and Moser lead the Cardinals statistics. On the offensive side, Moser tallied 19 kills and four service aces. Donovan totaled 49 assists, 18 digs, and four huge blocks.
 
North Central has a very short turnaround as they host the second annual Christian Staple's Battle of Chicago and Maple against Benedictine University at 5 pm Saturday, Jan. 27 inside Gregory Arena.
 
Download the free North Central Cardinals app, available for iOS and Android devices, to receive up to the minute news, scores, and updates on your favorite North Central teams. Click HERE for more information.