Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
KENOSHA, Wis. (Sept. 25, 2024) - Kicking off College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin play against Carthage College, the North Central College women's volleyball team fell in a five-set thriller on Wednesday night inside Tarble Arena.
Abbi Barickman began the scoring in the opening set with a kill, set up by Maddi Barickman. The teams traded points until A. Barickman and Amber Vande Hei produced a three-point swing, forcing a Firebirds' timeout as the Cardinals took a 12-9 advantage. The timeout proved effective as Carthage evened the contest at 15-15. Riley Clark and Abby Buban sent home kills before the Firebirds tied the set at 21-21. After each side scored two points, M. Barickman and Buban used kills to clinch a tightly contested 25-23 first set.
The second set remained close throughout the contest as a kill from Vande Hei evened the score at 6-6. After back-and-forth action with neither team going ahead by more than two points, North Central broke through as a block from Lauren Benson put the Cardinals on top, 20-16. Carthage came back within a point, but kills from Benson and Vande Hei put the set away as North Central prevailed, 25-21.
Benson came out firing in set three, racking up four kills in a 5-1 start for the Cardinals. Again, the Firebirds battled back as a Bailey Houlihan service ace gave North Central a slight 11-10 advantage. Carthage scored five of the next six points to force a Cardinal timeout with a 15-12 edge. A kill from Benson made the Firebirds take their second timeout, but Carthage held the lead the rest of the way in set three, winning 25-21.
Back-to-back kills from Clark and A. Barickman put the Cardinals and Firebirds in a 6-6 tie. On par with the previous sets, set four remained close throughout the contest as Buban's kill put North Central ahead by one, 10-9. Carthage took a four-point advantage, forcing a Cardinal timeout down 17-13. North Central fought back with a four-point swing powered by three kills from Buban to even the score at 21-21. The Firebirds scored four of the final five points to force a fifth and final set.
Kills from Clark and Benson along with two Firebird errors gave the Cardinals a 4-1 lead early on in set five as Carthage took their first timeout. Clark broke a 6-6 tie with a kill to put North Central in front before a big block from Buban gave the Cardinals an 8-6 edge halfway through the set. Again, the Firebirds fought back, taking a 10-9 lead as North Central took a timeout. Following points on each side, a kill from A. Barickman put the Cardinals up 14-13, but could not convert the next point as the set extended beyond the traditional 15-point fifth set. A kill from Clark tied the contest at 16-16, but the Firebirds scored the next two points to claim an 18-16 victory.
The Cardinals and Firebirds each tallied 90 kills in the match as A. Barickman led all attackers with 21 kills. Clark (16) and Benson (11) each recorded double-digit kills in the contest with Benson leading North Central with three blocks. M. Barickman totaled 55 kills over the five sets, along with 11 digs. Houlihan led all players with 33 digs on the night.
North Central heads to Chicago on Saturday for a triangular hosted by the Illinois Institute of Technology. The Cardinals square off with Lake Forest College at 2:30 p.m. before facing the host Scarlet Hawks at 5 p.m. inside Keating Sports Center.
Download the free North Central Cardinals app for iOS and Android devices to receive up-to-the-minute news, scores, and updates on your favorite North Central teams. Click HERE for more information.
