Contact: Alex Mielcarz, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, ajmielcarz@noctrl.edu
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Jan. 22, 2026) – The North Central College men's volleyball program improved to 2-0 on the young season with a 3-1 defeat of Concordia University Chicago on Thursday night inside Gregory Arena. The Cardinals were paced by Connor Davis and his 3.5 blocks, part of a 13-block effort by the North Central defense, which ties the record for the sixth most in a single match in program history.
North Central (2-0) controlled the first set from the jump, getting out to an early 5-1 lead thanks to a Chris Mactal block and a kill and an ace from Elijah Landeros. An 8-4 run from the Cardinals grew the lead to 14-5, with Jefferey McEachern Jr. providing three kills during the run, and Landeros provided a fireball of a kill off the hands of the Concordia Chicago front row, forcing the Cougars to take a timeout.
Later in the set, Landeros, who has shown off a powerful swing in the early stages of his collegiate career, showed some finesse, perfectly placing a tip over the net off a feed from PJ Vaughan to extend the Cardinal lead to 21-11. North Central would put the final touches on the set with a McEachern kill that deflected wide from a Concordia Chicago block attempt, giving the Cardinals the first set 25-15.
McEachern had four kills in the first set alone and would finish the night with six. Landeros accrued three kills of his own in the opening frame and would grow that total to eight by the end of the night.
The second set opened much tighter than the set that preceded it, as the Cougars jumped out to an early 6-3 lead. Connor Davis would go on to finish three consecutive points on his own with kills, as the last one was a free ball from the Cougars that the 6-foot-6 senior dented the floor with on the first touch of the Cardinal attack, evening the score at 6.
The two squads traded points until the middle of the set, when the Cardinals used the combination block of McEachern and Davis to go up 14-12, and an emphatic solo block by Vaughan to extend the lead to 15-12.
The Cardinals would not trail again in the second set, going on to claim it 25-21.
Concordia Chicago (0-2) claimed a tightly contested third set 25-22, after North Central held a slight edge in the middle stages of the set. A kill from Landeros and an ace from Davis gave the Cardinals a 13-10 advantage. That lead would grow to 17-13 after a Mactal kill, but the Cougars staged a furious comeback, outscoring North Central 12-6 down the final stretch, aided by three kills from Jackson Stella.
The fourth set was just as tight as the previous two, with the two teams exchanging the lead five times throughout, knotting the score on ten different occasions. With the Cardinals trailing 18-17, Vaughan stepped up and registered his second solo block of the night, following it up with an emphatic celebration, turning the momentum of the set and the match back in favor of the Cardinal red and black.
A few points later, Vaughan elevated from the service line and delivered an ace to put North Central up 22-21. A few points later, the junior setter did it again, placing a ball perfectly on the backline for his third ace of the night, this one giving the Cardinals a 24-21 match point.
On the ensuing serve from Vaughan, the Cardinal defense rose to the occasion once again, registering its 13th of the affair, this one from Mactal and Brannen Almarales, giving the Cardinals a 25-21 set victory, and a 3-1 match victory.
Davis' nine kills and 14.5 points led the way for North Central, while Almarales contributed ten kills, eight digs and two assists to the winning effort. Vaughan, who didn't leave the floor for a single point, distributed 36 assists along with his three aces, while Mactal and Landeros had eight kills each.
As a team, the Cardinals hit at a .142 clip while holding the Cougars to a .120 percentage. The Cougars conceded 21 points on service errors alone in the contest.
North Central continues its seven-game homestand on Saturday, hosting local foe Benedictine University inside Gregory Arena at 5 p.m.
