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

Nov. 12, 2024 - Hosting North Park University in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Tournament Quarterfinal, the North Central College women's volleyball controlled the match from the beginning to earn the program's first CCIW Tournament victory since 2009 by sweeping the Vikings on Tuesday night inside Gregory Arena.

A block from Lauren Benson and Riley Clark evened the score at 3-3 before a string of four Viking attack errors put the Cardinals ahead 9-6 early on in the opening set. Kills from Amber Vande Hei and Benson extended North Central's lead to five, 14-9. Maddi Barickman set up Clark for a kill before Abbi Barickman clinched set one with a kill to give the Cardinals a 25-16 victory.

Kills from A. Barickman and Clark followed by another block from Benson and Clark put North Central on top early in the second set, 5-1. Abby Buban notched her first kill of the set to double up North Park, 8-4. A. Barickman kept the Cardinals in front with another kill, 14-8. The Vikings battled back to come within a point before A. Barickman delivered a clutch kill to put the momentum back to the home side of the net. North Central scored the final four points to take a 25-20 win in set two.

The teams traded points early in the third set as kills from Buban and Vande Hei put the Cardinals within one, 10-9. A. Barickman sparked a 6-1 rally for North Central, holding a slight 15-12 advantage in the Cardinals best stretch of the night. Again, North Park fought back, knotting the set at 17-17. Clark and Buban snuck it past the Viking defense to put North Central in the lead, 19-18. A kill from Benson began the final rally of the night as a block from Clark and Benson gave the Cardinals match point. Clark delivered a kill, set up by M. Barickman to clinch a 25-21 victory.

The Cardinal defense tallied seven blocks over the three sets, led by Benson with four while Clark and M. Barickman each recorded three. A. Barickman led the Cardinals with 11 kills followed by Clark (9) and Benson (9). M. Barickman sent out a match-high 30 assists on the night. AS a team, North Central hit .271 and held the Vikings to a .112 mark, including a .000 first set.

The Cardinals advance to the CCIW Tournament Semifinals on Thursday as they face the No. 1 seed and regular season CCIW Champion in Illinois Wesleyan University. That match is set for 7 p.m. inside the Shirk Center.

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