Contact: Anna Fox, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, amfox@noctrl.edu
 
Mar. 30, 2024 - The North Central College men's volleyball team went the distance with the University of California, Santa Cruz on Saturday evening in Gregory Arena. Unfortunately, the Cardinals effort was not enough to outlast the Banana Slugs in a five-set nail-biter on senior night.
 
The two teams kept the score close in the first set. Tied at 6-6, the Cardinals took a 5-2 rally to rip the lead away from the Banana Slugs (11-8). Santa Cruz fought back and was able to get within one point of North Central (12-11). Karson Eggert led the Cardinals on a four-point run while also recording a service ace (16-11). North Central held tight to their lead, and Santa Cruz gave the Cardinals the win after two offensive errors (25-21).
 
In the second set, the two teams took turns earning points. Tied at 8-8, North Central earned the next point from a kill by Tyler Donovan to take the lead. The Banana Slugs worked quickly to take a 10-1 rally and take the lead (18-10). Santa Cruz won the second set 25-15.
 
The Banana Slugs brought their momentum into the third set and jumped to a 7-3 lead before the two teams started to exchange points. At 14-10, Santa Cruz earned four consecutive points to increase their lead to 18-10. North Central fought back but ultimately fell 25-17 to the Banana Slugs.
 
The fourth set saw eight tied scores and five lead changes. Santa Cruz was up 3-1 before the Cardinals earned four consecutive points (5-3). After trading off points, North Central took their second four-point run of the set (13-10). Unfortunately, the Cardinal lead did not last long. The Banana Slugs earned six consecutive points to take the lead again (18-14). Santa Cruz led the set 24-21, but North Central was not ready for the match to end. The Cardinals sent the match into the fifth set by taking five consecutive points, with the final point coming off a kill by Jared Moser (26-24).
 
The fifth set saw seven tied scores and only two lead changes. North Central and Santa Cruz traded off rallies, ultimately tying the set at 8-8. The Cardinals took a three-point lead after kills by Caelan Koth and Donovan, in addition to a Banana Slug error (11-8). Tied at 13-13, Santa Cruz took the next point before Connor Davis tied up the set with a kill (14-14). North Central fell just short of taking the match when the Banana Slugs earned their final two points from offensive kills (16-14).
 
The Cardinal defense showed up big at the net, with Mitchell Hester leading the team with six blocks, followed by Moser (5) and Donovan (4). Moser led the team with 17 kills and 13 digs. Donovan led the team with 27 assists while also tallying nine digs and six kills. Eggert was the only North Central athlete to record a service ace against the Banana Slugs.
 
North Central will host their final home match of the 2024 season on Apr. 3 against Illinois Wesleyan University inside Gregory Arena. The match will begin at 7 p.m. in Naperville, Ill.
 
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