Contact: Alex Mielcarz, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, ajmielcarz@noctrl.edu
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (March 28, 2026) – The North Central men's volleyball program continued College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play on Saturday, hosting No. 20 Illinois Wesleyan University in a critical clash. The Cardinals came up short in the match, but came one step closer to qualifying for the postseason, as Augustana College fell in its match against Carthage College. Coach Kevin Kustura and the Cardinals honored three senior student-athletes prior to the match as a part of Senior Day festivities Brannen Almarales, Connor Davis and Jeffrey McEachern Jr. in front of a raucous crowd inside Gregory Arena.
The Cardinals claimed what would later prove to be their lone victory of the day in the opening set. After not getting any sort of separation in the early going, Almarales executed a perfect tip to provide North Central (10-10, 4-4 CCIW) a 13-10 lead, a lead that would extend to 15-10 after a pair of Titan attack errors.
A handful of rallies later, BK Bartlett split the defense with a swing that gave North Central a 19-14 advantage, and on the next point, Bartlett and Mitchell Hester elevated from the front row to stuff an Illinois Wesleyan (20-4, 7-1) swing to make it 20-14.
The Titans scratched their way back in to the set, witling the North Central lead down to 24-22, but an Almarales kill finished the set 25-22.
The two teams played evenly through the first 20 rallies of the second set to a 10-10 tie before the Titans built a slight two-point advantage (13-11). This was the only edge the Titans needed, as they never relinquished the lead the remainder of the set, winning 25-21.
The third set saw Illinois Wesleyan dominate its way to a 25-15 win. The Titans started the set on a 9-0 run, and grew the lead to 12-2. The Titans hit at a .391 clip in the third set, connecting on 10 of their 23 attempts.
The fourth set proved to be one of the most thrilling of the season. The Cardinals grew an early lead, utilizing a block by block from the senior trio of Almarales, Davis and McEachern to go up 11-6, extending it to 12-6 on the next rally after a McEachern kill.
Back-to-back finishes by Davis made it 15-9 before an Illinois Wesleyan error gave North Central a 17-11 lead.
The Titans then went on a 10-4 run to tie the set at 21, setting up a thrilling conclusion.
With set point at 24-23, North Central had a chance to send the match to a fifth set, but were unable to do so when IWU cashed in a monster kill to even the set at 24. The Titans had an opportunity at match point (26-25) but a block by Davis and Almarales kept the match alive.
A Titan error then gave North Central an opportunity to end the set (27-26), but consecutive attack errors from the Cardinals flipped the situation on its head, leading to another match-point opportunity for the Titans.
Illinois Wesleyan squandered its chance at 28-27, as a McEachern kill and a Titan attack error gave North Central a 29-28 advantage, but the Titans would not be denied, rattling off three consecutive points to end the marathon set 31-29, and to win in four sets, spoiling senior day.
The Cardinals were led defensively by Jonathan Brown's 15 digs, tying for the sixth most digs in a four-set match in program history. McEachern was also active defensively, partaking in four blocks in the match. Davis and Hester both added three each.
The Cardinals hit at a .134 percentage over the four sets, totaling 28 attack errors on 127 swings. Almarales was the lone Cardinal in double figures offensively, connecting for 15 kills. PJ Vaughan and Angelo Delgado split the setting duties, logging 19 and 16 assists, respectively.
The gauntlet continues for North Central next week, as it welcomes No. 3 Carthage College on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. and No. 10 Loras College next Saturday at 3 p.m. for the final two regular season matches of the year. The Cardinals, in order to qualify for the postseason, need a win or an Augustana loss over the final two conference contests.
