CHICAGO, Ill. (Mar. 1, 2025) - The North Central College men's volleyball team shut down North Park University 3-0 in a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) match-up Saturday in North Park Gymnasium.
 
North Central jumped to an early 7-4 lead with the help of service aces by Tyler Donovan and Jonathan Brown. The Cardinals and Vikings traded off points until 14-10, when North Central's offense was fired up to tally seven consecutive points (21-10). North Park picked up one point from a Cardinal attack error before North Central picked up where they left off. The Cardinals earned four straight points to end the set 25-11, including two kills from Cooper Lundal and two service aces by Carson Steinbach.
 
The second set saw 10 ties and four lead changes, while North Central led with a .364 attack percentage. Opening up the second set, the Cardinals and the Vikings traded three-point runs. North Central was up 8-6 when North Park earned four consecutive points (10-8). The Cardinals worked to tie the score at 15, but the Vikings would take the lead once again. North Park led 22-20 until back-to-back kills from Steinbach and a Viking attack error kept the Cardinals in the set. Tied at 24-24, a service error and a net violation by North Park delivered North Central the second set (26-24).
 
After a tight second set, the Cardinals shut the Vikings offense down once again. North Park earned the first point by a kill before dropping the next three to North Central. With a 9-7 advantage, the Cardinals took a 6-1 run with the help of a service ace from Donovan and kills from Mitchell Hester and Jeffrey McEachern (15-8). North Central held their lead, and after a kill by BK Bartlett, Donovan delivered two service aces to win the set 25-14.
 
The Cardinal's offense was led by Steinbach (12), followed by McEachern (9) and Lundal (8). Donovan recorded 36 assists and a season-high of four service aces. Danny Smithers tallied eight digs, while Hester, Bartlett, and Steinbach all recorded blocks.
 
North Central is back in Gregory Arena Wednesday, Mar. 5, at 7 p.m. to host Augustana College in their only match of the week.
 
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