Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
MT. VERNON, Iowa (Sept. 13, 2024) - Following a sweep of Simpson College, the North Central College women's volleyball team spoiled the No. 21 Cornell College home opener with a 3-1 victory over the Rams on Friday night inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
An Abbi Barickman kill sparked a 5-1 start from the Cardinals before Riley Clark's kill put North Central ahead 7-2. The Storm fought back to even the opening set at 10 before Amber Vande Hei and A. Barickman gave the Cardinals a 12-10 advantage. Another A. Barickman kill opened a 12-1 run for the Cardinals that included two service aces from Maddi Barickman. A Simpson serving error secured the 25-13 victory for North Central in set one.
Lauren Benson and Clark shared a block to push the Cardinal lead to three early in the second set. A 5-1 rally by North Central extended the lead to five before Vande Hei's kill gave the Cardinals a 14-8 edge. Aleesa Zebold's kill capped off a 6-1 swing for North Central before Danni Moser's kill locked up a 25-11 win in set two for the Cardinals.
Looking for their fourth sweep of the season, A. Barickman delivered a kill and an ace to bring North Central within three, 8-5. Katie Godo served up an ace before Bailey Houlihan's ace knotted the third set at 15-15. The teams traded points until the Cardinals scored six of the final seven points to earn a 25-20 win in set three.
The Cardinals racked up 12 aces in the match while holding the Storm without an ace over the three sets. A. Barickman totaled 13 kills with M. Barickman recording 30 assists while tying a career-best five aces. Both Houlihan and M. Barickman tallied 13 digs as North Central hit .299.
In the Cardinals' second match of the day, Abby Buban's kill gave North Central a 6-4 edge. The teams went back and forth until a 6-1 rally from Cornell put them ahead 17-14. North Central could not mount a comeback as the Rams won 25-22 in the opening set.
Set two saw the Cardinals jump out to an early 4-2 lead. Both teams traded points as an ace from Houlihan evened the contest at 12-12. Back-to-back kills from Benson followed by a kill from Clark put North Central ahead 19-15. A kill from M. Barickman closed out a 25-21 victory to even the match at 1-1.
The teams traded runs to begin the third set as two straight Rams errors knotted the set at 9-9. Clark and Benson teamed up for a block to break the tie before Vande Hei and Clark's block gave North Central a slight 19-17 advantage. The Cardinals rattled off six straight points to clinch a 25-18 win in set three.
Hoping to win the match in four sets, the Cardinals leaned on its offense as Buban sent home two straight kills to tie the contest at five. Cornell jumped ahead 12-8 before North Central battled back within one on a Benson kill 12-11. Again the Rams took charge with a 19-13 lead. A kill from Clark stopped a 6-1 Cornell run before A. Barickman's kill sparked a 9-1 rally from the Cardinals to take a 24-23 lead. After the Rams tied the set at 24-24, Clark scored on back-to-back attacks to claim a 26-24 victory over No. 21 Cornell.
North Central hit .242 while holding the Rams to a .186 hitting percentage on the night. A. Barickman (19), Clark (12) and Benson (12) each recorded double-digit kills with M. Barickman racking up a season-high 47 assists. Houlihan led all players with 22 digs as Godo (17) and M. Barickman (14) helped the Cardinals' defensive effort. Vande Hei netted six blocks in the match as well.
North Central travels to Coe College tomorrow for a noon match against the Kohawks before taking on Augsburg at 2 p.m. inside Kohawk Arena.
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