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

ROCK ISLAND (Oct. 26, 2024) - Completing the Augustana Triangular, the North Central College women's volleyball team claimed their 11th sweep of the season by defeating the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on Saturday inside the Carver Center.

Lauren Benson's third kill of the match capped off an 8-2 run for the Cardinals to open the first set. The teams traded points until Amber Vande Hei used a kill to keep North Central ahead 11-7. Abbi Barickman's kill forced an Eagles timeout as the Cardinals extended their lead to seven, 16-9. Out of the timeout, Bailey Houlihan delivered an ace before an Abby Buban kill secured a 25-16 victory in the opening set.

North Central jumped out to an early lead once again, this time an ace from Houlihan gave the Cardinals a 6-2 advantage. UW-La Crosse battled back within a point before North Central scored four of the next five points. Despite the teams going back and forth, the Cardinals never trailed as a kill from Riley Clark pushed the North Central lead to three, 18-15. Maddi Barickman assisted on four of the final six Cardinal points in set two as another kill from Clark clinched a 25-18 win.

A block from Vande Hei and M. Barickman sparked a 5-0 run to start the third set, forcing an Eagles timeout. UW-La Crosse fought back to even the contest at 9-9 before an ace from Benson put the Cardinals in front. Kills from A. Barickman, Benson and Clark gave North Central an 18-15 edge. M. Barickman used a kill to put the Cardinals up 22-18 before an attack error captured a 25-19 win for North Central.

North Central hit .252 on the day while holding the Eagles to a .054 hitting percentage. Houlihan racked up 25 digs, the most by a Cardinal this season in a three-set match. Benson led all players with 13 kills while M. Barickman dished out 33 assists. Vande Hei, Benson and M. Barickman each tallied two blocks as well.

The Cardinals return to Gregory Arena Wednesday with a conference match against No. 9 Millikin University. That match is set for a 7 p.m. first serve.

Download the free North Central Cardinals app 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.