Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
Oct. 9, 2024 - Putting together their longest winning streak since 2015, the North Central College women's volleyball team won their sixth straight match as the Cardinals downed No. 21 North Park University Wednesday night inside an energetic Gregory Arena. The Cardinals improve to 3-1 in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin play, surpassing their win total in league play from a season ago.
Three straight Viking errors gave North Central an early lead in the opening set. Kills from Riley Clark and Abby Buban pushed the Cardinal lead to three, 8-5. The teams traded points as a kill from Abbi Barickman knotted the contest at 12-12. Clark's third kill of the set sparked a 7-1 run for North Central before a North Park service error secured a 25-22 win in set one.
Bailey Houlihan delivered an ace followed by a kill from A. Barickman to give the Cardinals a 4-1 advantage in the second set. Kills from A. Barickamn and Clark highlighted a four-point swing for North Central, taking a 9-4 lead. The Vikings battled back to even the set at 13-13. Maddi Barickman set up Clark for a kill that gave the Cardinals a one-point edge, 22-21. North Central had three opportunities to clinch the match, but the Vikings scored the final three points to take a 28-26 win in set two.
Looking to break the 1-1 tie, a block by Clark and Lauren Benson put North Central on top, 5-4 in the third set. Both teams used 4-0 runs before a kill from A. Barickman capped off a 5-1 rally that gave the Cardinals a 12-11 lead. Another run from North Central, this time a 5-0 run gave the Cardinals set point, 24-17. The home team took advantage of a Viking error to earn a 25-19 win in set three.
Buban's first kill of the fourth set extended the Cardinal lead to five, 11-6 early on. A 12-3 run from North Central began with a solo block from Abranet Layne and finished off with an ace from A. Barickman to give the Cardinals match point. Another North Park service error cliched the 25-12 victory and gave North Central a 3-1 victory over the Vikings.
Three Cardinal attackers finished with double-digit kills as Barickman (15), Clark (12) and Buban (11) paced the North Central offense. M. Barickman dished out 36 assists over the four sets while Houlihan tallied 24 digs. Clark and Benson each notched three blocks on the night. As a team, North Central hit .164 and held the Viking offense to a .090 hitting percentage.
The Cardinals go for their seventh win in a row on Friday as they host Kalamazoo College at 7 p.m. inside Gregory Arena. This marks the fifth time these squads have met, and the first since 2013.
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