Contact: Alex Mielcarz, Athletics Communication GA, ajmielcarz@noctrl.edu

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Feb. 6, 2026) – It was birds over brawn on Friday night inside Gregory Arena, as the North Central men's volleyball team earned its first sweep of the 2026 campaign with a 3-0 defeat of previously undefeated Wisconsin Lutheran College.

Brannen Almarales soared for the Cardinals and led them with 13 kills and five blocks. Delgado had another big night from the setter position, dishing out 27 assists in the contest, while Evan Page got his first start this season and led the team with nine digs from the libero position.

The first set started as a back-and-forth affair, with the set being tied at eight after an Elijah Landeros kill. North Central (5-2) then rattled off a 7-2 run pushed along by two Almarales kills and another by Chris Mactal to give the Cardinals a 15-10 lead.

A Mactal solo rejection later in the set gave the Cardinals another five-point advantage at 21-16, followed by another kill by Mactal a few rallies later to give the Cardinals set point at 24-18. After two unforced errors by the Cardinals, Almarales put the finishing touches on the set with a powerful off a feed from Delgado.

The second set was the most dominant set of volleyball the Cardinals have played this season, flexing their way to a 25-15 set win. It opened a kill by Landeros and a kill from Maddox Hardy – who got his first start of the season tonight – to jump out to an early 2-1 lead. Brannen Almarales and Chris Mactal then collaborated on blocks on two consecutive rallies to extend the lead to 4-1.

After Wisconsin Lutheran (5-1) came back to tie the set at 4, the home team responded with its largest run of the year: a 9-0 string of dominance, anchored by four Mactal kills and an impressive effort from Almarales at the service line, helping the Cardinals to a 13-4 lead.

The lead would eventually grow to ten on a solo block by Almarales to make the score 17-7. Two teams then traded blows until a powerful swing and finish from Almarales ended the set 25-15, giving North Central a 2-0 match lead.

The Warriors appeared to have found their groove in the third set, jumping out to an early 2-0 lead, but coach Kevin Kustura's squad quickly returned to form, as three Wisconsin Lutheran attack errors and an Elijah Landeros kill gave the Cardinals a 13-7 advantage.

That lead would grow to as much as eight after a Warrior service error and another attack error (16-8).

The Warriors struggled offensively all night, hitting at just a .136 clip on their 88 swings, totaling 19 errors in those attempted attacks. The Cardinals also took advantage of the Wisconsin Lutheran mistakes at the service line. The Warriors had 19 service errors on the night, compared to just seven from the Cardinals, a team that has struggled in that department at times this season.

The onslaught continued into the late stages of the set, as Mactal and Landeros teamed up to reject Wisconsin Lutheran's Drew Wempner to give the Cardinals a 22-15 advantage.

The 19th service error of the night by the Warriors gave the Cardinals a set and match point, and the Cardinals took full advantage, as Almarales sent a fireball into the 10-foot line on a free ball to put the exclamation point on the Cardinals' first three-set victory of the season.

The Warriors were led by Brady Pichler's 15 kills and .464 hitting percentage. David Warren, who came off the bench, led the Warriors in assists with 19, while libero Connor Haeuser paced the Wisconsin Lutheran defense with six digs. The Warriors had just two blocks on the evening.

North Central hit at a .364 clip on the evening, led by Mactal, who had nine kills and a .571 swing percentage while contributing on five blocks defensively. Almarales paced the attack with 13 kills and five blocks while Landeros contributed 6 kills and an ace to the Cardinal offense. Hardy, in his first start of the season, collected three kills, an assist and two blocks for the Cardinals.

North Central is back in action tomorrow at 2 p.m. against Calvin University inside Gregory Arena to cap off its seven-match homestand.