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

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Feb. 7, 2026) – Fresh off a three-set sweep last night, the North Central men's volleyball program was right back on the horse this afternoon, this time jousting with Calvin University in a non-conference affair inside Gregory Arena. The Cardinals won the match in four sets in a contest that saw the year's longest set by total points for North Central and top-10 program performances from Chris Mactal and Jonathan Brown.

Mactal contributed to six blocks on the evening, tying for the sixth-best single-match mark in program history, while Brown reappeared in the record books, recording 16 digs, tying him for the 10th-most digs in a single match in program history.

The first set was action-packed, as the two teams were never separated by more than three points. Jefferey McEachern Jr. and PJ Vaughan collaborated on a block to tie the set at 22, and after a Calvin University kill, McEachern would tie things up again at 23 with a kill. The Cardinals would commit an attack error, setting up the first of many set points in the opening set. Down 24-23, McEachern rose from the left side and punished a ball off the Knights' block and out of bounds to knot it up at 24.

A few rallies later, Mitchell Hester sent a ball careening off a Knights defender to give the Cardinals set point at 26-25, but North Central was unable to convert. Later, an unreal effort from Brown kept a rally alive that would eventually end in a block from Mactal and Brannen Almarales, giving the Cardinals a 28-27 advantage.

Calvin (4-2) would have two opportunities to end the set, but both were fended off by the Cardinals, one of which was a powerful swing from McEachern to tie the set again, this time at 30. North Central (6-2). A handful of rallies later, North Central would jump back ahead after a diving dig from Vaughan led to another McEachern finish at the net, giving the Cardinals a 32-31 advantage. On the next point, the Cardinals finished the marathon set with a combination block from Hester and Vaughan to win it 33-31.

The Cardinals had 18 kills in the first set on 44 swings.

The second set saw tensions lower inside Gregory Arena, as coach Kevin Kustura and the Cardinals took it 25-22. North Central jumped out to an early 4-1 lead thanks to a serving run from PJ Vaughan that included two kills from Almarales and an ace from Vaughan. The Cardinals rattled off another run shortly after, accruing a 10-5 lead after kills from McEachern and Hester, and a block from Almarales.

Calvin chipped away at the lead, getting it down to two with a Daniel Rua kill to make it 20-18. But the Cardinals would not be denied, as North Central would outscore the Knights 5-4 the rest of the set, winning it 25-22 on a block from Hester and Vaughan.

The Knights took set three to avoid the sweep, thanks to a 14-kill effort and a .226 hitting percentage in the set to go along with two aces.  The Cardinals tied the set at 20 after a Knights errant serve, and eventually even took the lead 22-21 on another service error.

But the Knights would not be denied, and with the score tied at 23, Calvin earned three unanswered points to win the set 25-23.

The fourth set saw North Central return to form, as they jumped out to a lead and never looked back. An early kill by Almarales off a feed from Vaughan gave the Cardinals a 5-2 advantage that would grow to 16-13 after a Brannen Almarales ace and a ball-handling error by the Knights. Calvin fought back to tie the score at 16 and 17, but North Central would score eight of the last 10 points in the set, thanks in large part to an offensive explosion from Elijah Landeros, who logged three kills over the run, to win the set 25-19, and the match 3-1.

The Knights hit .182 as a team in the contest and totaled 50 kills paired with 25 errors. Defensively, the Knights had 14 total blocks, including six in the first set.

Calvin's offense attack was led by Justus Barbel and Rua's 10 kills each. Barbel contributed to a match-high 8 blocks. Ezekiel Jalan led the Knights in both assists and digs, netting nine and 34, respectively.

The Cardinals hit .193 as a team this afternoon and had a season high seven aces, led by Landeros, who had three.

North Central accrued 10 total blocks, boosted in large part by its five-block effort in the fourth set. Mactal tied for sixth on the single-match blocks list by contributing to six blocks.

McEachern led the effort at the net with 15 kills on 41 swings (.220) while Landeros and Almarales had 13 kills each. Vaughan logged yet another double-double, dishing out 41 assists and digging out 10 Calvin attacks. Brown had another big night from the libero position, posting 16 digs for the second time this season, tying himself for the 10th most digs in a single match in program history.

North Central hits the road next Thursday to take on RV Dominican University at 7 p.m.