Box Score

It was a fitting end in the regular season home finale as North Park defeated visiting Concordia University Chicago 25-17, 21-25, 25-21, 25-21 in non-conference volleyball action Saturday afternoon.

Prior to the contest, North Park paid tribute to senior libero Jessica Holmes for the hard work and dedication she's given to the program the last four years, as well as Concordia Chicago's seniors.

North Park started the match off strong, rolling to an eight-point first set victory, but the Vikings struggled some to find their groove in the second set and as a result lost a close set by a four-point margin despite being tied at 20-20 late in the set. NP rebounded to earn third and fourth set wins for the match victory, but they didn't come easy as Concordia nearly played the Vikings point-for-point.

“We had a hard-fought battle today, but in the end did what we needed to do,” North Park head coach Tim Walenga said. “Our ladies did a nice job of finishing out the match.”

The backdrop for the match was the Helwig Recreation Center as a sizeable crowd gathered to watch the Vikings earn their second victory in the last three matches. Junior Tricia Ivanoff returned to the lineup after missing a few matches and led NP's net attack with 13 kills and seven digs, while Tara Spell collected nine kills and hit at a blistering .615 percentage. Junior Shelby Switzer added 13 kills, and junior Julia Bakken finished with a team-high 18 digs.

North Park (6-13) returns to action Tuesday night when it travels to Wheaton College for a 7 p.m. College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin contest.