Contact: Anna Fox, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, amfox@noctrl.edu

Feb. 22, 2024 - The North Central College men's volleyball team extended their winning streak to eight after defeating North Park University 3-1 on Thursday night in Gregory Arena.

The Cardinals took a 4-1 lead to start the first set, but the Vikings were not far behind. At 14-11, North Central went on a seven-point run, led by serves from Tyler Donovan, including a service ace (22-11). The Cardinals took the set 25-15 off a service error from the Vikings.
 
The second set saw ten tied scores and six lead changes. The two teams traded off points until the Cardinals took advantage of three straight points from Viking errors (8-3). Tied at 17-17, North Park earned four consecutive points, led by Pablo Ocasio (20-17). North Central stayed close, but the Vikings capitalized on Cardinal errors, and North Park took the set 25-21.
 
North Central opened up scoring in the third set with a kill by Donovan. The Cardinals offense started to push ahead of the Vikings with a three-point lead (7-4), but North Park quickly scored four unanswered points to take the lead away (8-7). The two teams traded off a few points before Jared Moser showed his dominance at the net with back-to-back kills (12-10). North Central kept their lead the rest of the set, and Mitchell Hester put the set away with two straight kills.
 
Caelan Koth opened up the Cardinals' offensive with a service ace in the fourth set (2-0). The teams went back and forth until North Central took advantage of three errors by North Park (15-10). The Cardinals held tight to their lead, and Koth finished the match with a kill (25-19).
 
Moser led all players with 14 kills, while Koth tallied ten digs. Donovan recorded 43 assists and two service aces. North Central hit .322, while North Park tallied a .172 hitting percentage.
 
North Central plays a double header at the Keating Sports Center in Chicago, Ill. Saturday, Feb. 24. The first game against the University of Mount Union is scheduled to begin at 3 pm and the second game against Illinois Institute of Technology begins at 5:30 pm.

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