Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Sept. 14, 2024) - After being on the losing end of a five-set match against Coe College, the North Central College women's volleyball team battled to a 3-2 victory over Augsburg University on Saturday inside Kohawk Arena.
Kills from Amber Vande Hei, Abbi Barickman and Lauren Benson sparked a 7-1 lead for the Cardinals in the opening set against Coe. A block from Riley Clark and Vande Hei kept the momentum with North Central before Bailey Houlihan served up an ace to double up the Kohawks, 16-8. Abby Buban and Vande Hei delivered kills until an attache error from Coe clinched set one for the Cardinals, 25-16.
Maddi Barickman set up A. Barickman to give North Central a 4-1 edge early on. The teams traded points as another successful attack from A. Barickman gave the Cardinals a 14-13 lead. The Kohawks fought back as things tightened up down the stretch. A kill from Buban brought North Central back within two, but Coe held on to take set two 25-22.
The Kohawks scored the first seven points of set three. North Central hung around as an ace from Katie Godo capped off a 4-1 run to bring the score to 12-9. Two kills from Vande Hei kept the Cardinals close until A. Barickman's kill opened up a 12-0 run which put North Central on top, 23-17. Buban clinched the third set with a kill, giving the Cardinals a 25-19 win and a 2-1 advantage in the match.
Again, the Kohawks stormed out of the gates, taking a 16-6 lead in the fourth set. M. Barickman ended the Coe run by starting a seven-point swing and bringing the Cardinals within three, 16-13. Coe stayed on top despite North Central's best effort to take a 25-20 victory in set four and force a fifth and final set.
The Kohakws jumped out to a 7-2 lead before back-to-back aces from M. Barickman and a kill from Clark put the Cardinals within one, 7-6. A 5-0 run from Coe turned into a 15-11 win for the Kohawks.
Both the Cardinals and Kohawks hit .194 over the five sets. A. Barickman set a career-high with 26 kills while M. Barickman also delivered a career-best performance with 58 assists and seven aces on the day. Houlihan tallied 25 digs with Clark and Benson posting three blocks each.
In the second match of the day, Najwa Williams, Isabelle Guerrero and Kendall Franklin sent home kills to even the first set at 6-6. The Auggies took control in the middle of the set to take a 22-10 lead. Danni Moser stopped the Augsburg run with a kill. Abranet Layne sparked the Cardinal comeback as North Central scored 11 straight points to take a 25-24 advantage. M. Barickman and Guerrero each used kills to give the Cardinals a 27-25 victory in the opening set.
A kill from Guerrero began a 4-0 rally for the Cardinals before the Auggies put together a run of their own to take a 14-9 lead. Sarah Harvey used an ace to keep the Cardinals within reach, 14-11. Augsburg held the lead the rest of the way, winning 25-21 in set two.
Both teams traded points early in the third set as a kill from Moser evened the score at 10-10. The Auggies used a 5-0 run to take a 19-14 lead until A. Barickman brought the Cardinals within two, 19-17. A. Barickman used a kill to spark a 6-0 run down the stretch to give North Central a 25-23 win in set three.
Moser's first kill of the fourth set cut the Auggies lead in half, 8-4. North Central scored five of six points to bring themselves within two, 12-10. Guerrero's kill and another ace from Harvey kept the Cardinals close, 18-15 but it wasn't enough as Augsburg won 25-21 to force a fifth set.
In set five, A. Barickman sparked a 6-0 rally for North Central, taking an 8-3 lead. Guerrero gave the Cardinals double-digits with a kill before Moser made the score 11-7 with a kill of her own. The Auggies battled back within two, 13-11 but Guerrero used a kill and an error from Augsburg secured a 15-11 victory for the Cardinals.
Guerrero led all players with 19 kills as A. Barickman (12) and Moser (12) each recorded double-digit kills. M. Barickman eclipsed the 50-assist mark for the second time of the day with 52 assists. Houlihan recorded 27 digs with Franklin totaling three blocks over the five sets.
Houlihan and M. Barickman were named to the Cornell Classic All-Tournament Team for their performances in yesterday's victories, Cornell announced Saturday evening.
North Central is back in action on Friday for their home opener by hosting Saint Mary's (Ind.) inside Gregory Arena. The first serve is set for 7 p.m.
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