Contact: Anna Fox, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, amfox@noctrl.edu
 
LISLE, Ill. (Jan. 25, 2025) - In their fourth consecutive five-set match, the No. 16 North Central College men's volleyball team fell just short of a reverse sweep against Benedictine University in the annual Christian Staple's Battle of Chicago and Maple match. The Eagles defeated the Cardinals 3-2 after taking the final set 15-11.
 
The first set saw seven tied scores and one lead change. The match began with the teams trading off points. Tied at 8-8, Benedictine started to gain momentum and took a 5-1 run (13-9). The Eagles continued to take consecutive points and jumped to a 20-14 lead. North Central fought back, but Benedictine took the set 25-18 off a Cardinal error.
 
The Eagles brought their momentum into the second set, earning the first two points and keeping their lead for the entire set. The Cardinals fought back, but Benedictine won the set 25-17.
 
North Central would not let the Eagles sweep them and end their night. The third set saw six tied scores and three lead changes. Benedictine earned the first point by a kill, but North Central earned the next two points from kills by Jeffrey McEachern and BK Bartlett (2-1). The teams traded points back and forth. The Cardinals were down 21-20 and earned three consecutive points, by two Eagle errors and a kill from Mitchell Hester (23-20). Benedictine fought back, but Barlett secured the set with a kill (25-23).
 
The teams tied 11 times in the fourth set with four lead changes. Down by one set, the Cardinals took the first point with a service ace by Brannen Almarales. Benedictine was up 8-7 before North Central earned four consecutive points to take the lead (11-8). The Cardinal's lead was produced by three Eagles errors and a kill from Almarales. North Central held their lead until Benedictine tied the set at 17-17. The Cardinals broke away from the Eagles after four consecutive points (23-20), with the help of two kills from Bartlett, a service ace from Connor Davis, and an error from the Cardinals. Benedictine earned one point before North Central took the set off two Eagle errors (25-20) and set the Cardinals into their fourth consecutive five-set match.
 
Benedictine earned the first two points of the final set, and the Cardinals chased the Eagles from there. With North Central down by two points (7-5), Benedictine went on a 7-2 run to increase their lead (14-7). The Cardinal fought back, taking four consecutive points off of back-to-back kills from McEachern and Alamarales (15-11). Unfortunately, the Eagles took the set off a kill. Benedictine won the match 3-2.
 
North Central's offense was led by kills from McEachern (17), Bartlett (14), and Almarales (12). Bartlett recorded two service aces on the night, the most from any player in the game. Carson Steinbach recorded a career-high with 43 assists. Steinbach led the team with three blocks on the defensive front, while Alamarales tallied 13 digs.
 
The Cardinals will have the week off to prepare for the North Central Triangular next weekend, Feb. 1, and Feb. 2. North Central will take on No. 4 California Lutheran University at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, before facing off against Nazareth University at 12 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, in Gregory Arena in Naperville, Ill.
 
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