Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
OSHKOSH, Wis. (Sept. 6, 2024) - Opening the two-day Mary Petersen Invitational, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, the North Central College women's volleyball team fell in a five-set battle to Whitworth University (Wash.) before dropping a three-set match to St. Catherine University (Minn.) on Friday evening.
After a kill from Abbi Barickman which evened the score at three, the Pirates took an 8-4 advantage early in the opening set vs the Pirates. The Cardinals climbed back to tie the set at 14-14. The teams traded points until Whitworth scored five of the final six points to take a 25-18 win in set one.
A Lauren Benson service ace put North Central on top, 8-4 in set two. Bailey Houlihan delivered an ace before A. Barickman sent home a kill, set up by Maddi Barickman, to keep the Cardinals in front, 12-10. North Central maintained its lead until the Pirates knotted the contest at 19-19. An Amber Vande Hei kill sparked a late rally from the Cardinals who scored the set's final three points to earn a 25-21 victory in the second set.
Whitworth opened the third set with a 12-6 lead, forcing a North Central timeout. Now down 15-9, the Cardinals scored eight of the next ten points to even the set at 17-17. After a few back-and-forth points, two kills from A. Barickman put the Cardinals ahead by two, 22-20. Another kill from A. Barickman and an error from the Pirates secured a 25-23 win for North Central, taking a 2-1 lead.
The Cardinals began the fourth set on a 7-2 run, started by a kill from Vande Hei. Whitworth battled back, but North Central held the lead throughout the majority of the set. A kill from Benson gave the Cardinals a 17-12 advantage, forcing the Pirates to take a timeout. Whitworth tied the contest at 21-21 and continued the momentum to force a fifth set, winning 25-21.
In the winner-take-all fifth set, a kill from A. Barickman knotted the game at 5-5. As the teams traded points, the Pirates took a slight 11-8 edge before a kill from M. Barickman and a block from A. Barickman tied the set at 11. Each team scored consecutive points before Whitworth claimed the final point to win 15-13, taking the match, 3-2.
Leading the team in kills, A. Barickman tallied 20 while Riley Clark (9) and Vande Hei (8) added to the offense. M. Barickman dished out 34 assists with Houlihan notching 19 digs in the match.
In the second match of the day, the Cardinals faced St. Catherine and found themselves down 15-1 before falling 25-4 to the Wildcats in set one. An ace from Demi Carpio gave North Central a 4-2 edge early in the second set. Kills from Danni Moser, Alexie Stiles and Najwa Willaims put the Cardinals ahead by seven, 12-5. After a kill from Kendal Franklin, St. Catherine scored five straight points forcing a North Central timeout. The Wildcats scored seven of the final eight points to win 25-21.
Two kills from Stiles kept the Cardinals close before Williams ended a Wildcats run. Abranet Layne halted the run with back-to-back kills. Down 24-16, Houlihan recorded three aces to bring North Central within reach. The Wildcats closed out the match with a 25-21 win in the third set.
Williams paced the Cardinal offense with seven kills with Moser racking up six. Sarah Harvey tallied 15 assists while Houlihan recorded 18 digs over the three sets.
The Cardinals wrap up the two-day tournament Saturday with matches against Lakeland University (9 a.m.) and the host No. 8 UW-Oshkosh (11 a.m.).
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