Contact: Anna Fox, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, amfox@noctrl.edu

AURORA, Ill. (Feb. 6, 2025) - The North Central College men's volleyball team upset No. 15 Aurora University 3-1 on Thursday, handing the Spartans their first loss of the season.
 
While Aurora earned the match's opening point, the Cardinals started to pull ahead after earning the next five points from a mix of kills and Spartan attacking errors. North Central kept their lead until Aurora tied the set at 12-12. Down 18-19, the Cardinals offense exploded, taking a 7-1 run to finish the set. North Central's run included a service ace from PJ Vaughn, while Tyler Donovan sealed the set with a kill (25-20). The Cardinals posted an outstanding .467 hitting percentage in the first set.
 
A service ace from Cooper Lundal and attack errors from Aurora's offense gave North Central an early 6-3 until the Spartans battled back to pull ahead 7-6. The second set saw 11 tied scores, with Aurora eventually taking the set off a service ace. The Spartans tied the match at one-all by taking the set 26-24.
 
The third set saw 11 tied scores and six lead changes. North Central was down 20-21 with little time to go. A kill from Carson Steinbach fired up the Cardinals and tied the set (21-21). North Central capitalized on Spartan errors and a kill from Jeffrey McEachern to win the third set 25-21.
 
The teams traded off points to open up the final set. Later, up 9-8, a kill by Chris Mactal sent Donovan to the service line. After a kill from Austin Scott, Donovan earned three consecutive service aces. The Spartans were able to tie the set until 20-19, when the Cardinals started to pull away with the help of a four-point run (24-19). However, Aurora answered the call by earning four points right back (24-23). A kill by Mactal secured the match win with a 25-23 set victory.
 
Three North Central attackers recorded 11 kills in tonight's matchup: Scott, Steinbach, and McEachern. In his first match back with the Cardinals, Donovan recorded 40 assists and four service aces. Both Donovan and Lundal tallied six block assists and one solo block. Danny Smithers led the team with 15 digs.
 
The Cardinals will be right back on the court tomorrow, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. against Adrian College in Gregory Arena.
 
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