Contact: Anna Fox, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, amfox@noctrl.edu
 
Mar. 26, 2025 - The North Central College men's volleyball team snapped the University of California Santa Cruz's 10-game winning streak by defeating the Banana Slugs 3-1 Wednesday night in Gregory Arena.
 
Santa Cruz missed the opening serve of the match but earned the following three points. However, North Central worked hard to close the gap, and a service ace by Jeffrey McEachern tied up the score 6-6. The two teams began to trade off points, which would be a theme throughout the match. The Cardinals were up 19-18 until the Banana Slugs earned four consecutive points to take the set's momentum (22-19). Cooper Lundal delivered a kill at 24-22, but the set ended with a Cardinal error (25-23). 
 
The second set saw 22 tied scores and nine lead changes. The Banana Slugs were up 19-17 until the Cardinals capitalized on several Santa Cruz errors to take a 6-1 run (23-20). However, the set was once again tied, and two teams went back to trading off points and extending the set. Ultimately, North Central earned three consecutive points from Santa Cruz attack errors to end the set 29-27.
 
The Cardinals and the Banana Slugs returned to work, trading off points in the third set. North Central found themselves down 22-24, but a kill by Carson Steinbach and a Santa Cruz error tied up the set. At 26-25, Tyler Donovan energized the Cardinal team after earning a huge solo block. The Banana Slugs earned the next point, but the set was quickly ended with the help of a kill by BK Bartlett and a setting error from the Banana Slugs. North Central won the set 28-26.
 
North Central jumped to an early 9-5 start in the fourth set, with Jonathan Brown leading the team at the service line and tallying a service ace. Once the Cardinals had the lead, they never let go. Late in the set, North Central was up 22-18, and chaos ensued. The Cardinals earned the next point from an error, but the Banana Slugs did not like the call. After challenging the call to the referee, a Santa Cruz athlete received a red card followed by a simultaneous red and yellow, resulting in a point for North Central (24-18). The Banana Slugs earned the next point by a Cardinal error, but North Central shut them down, winning the match with a huge kill from Mitchell Hester (25-19).
 
The Cardinals saw success across the court. Steinbach led the team with 18 kills, followed by Bartlett (12) and Lundal (9). Tyler Donovan led the team in assists (46) and digs (11). Donovan, Lundal, and Hester each took turns standing tall at the net, recording three blocks each.
 
No. 14 North Central will have another big match-up at 3 p.m., Saturday, Mar. 29, against No. 13 Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa.

Download the free North Central Cardinals app, available 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.