A little bit of home cooking has gone a long way for the Vikings this season.
Playing in their second-straight single-match home contest, North Park improved its home record to 2-0 on the year with a quick 27-25, 25-22, 25-21 victory over Calumet College St. Joseph Tuesday night.
North Park quietly disposed of the Crimson Wave behind an 11-kill performance from junior Hayley Brake. The Vikings defense was also on display as four different players finished in double-figure digs, led by 17 from freshman Monalisa Fasavalu. Sa'Vone Williams added 16, and both Darby Switzer and Alexis Clay each finished with 12.
Both teams were evenly matched, but North Park used its superb passing, spearheaded by a 25-assist performance from Switzer, and its dominating serving as was evident with eight total service aces.
In the first set, Calumet staked an early 11-7 lead, but North Park later came back to tie it at 18-all with an 11-7 scoring run capped off by a kill from Fasavalu. Calumet broke away briefly at 22-21, but NP used a 3-0 run to push ahead 24-22 off a kill from Brake. The Crimson Wave did bounce back to knot the score at 24-24, but North Park tallied three of the set's final four points on a service ace and a kill from Williams.
After a seesaw battle in the first 22 points of the second set between the teams, Calumet seemingly seized control by putting together a 6-1 run to pull ahead 17-13, but North Park responded once again with a 7-3 clip to tie the score at 20-20 on a kill from Angela Nevoso. After trading three quick points, North Park then put the set away on two CCSJ hitting errors and back-to-back kills from Nevoso and Karina Partee.
Calumet fought its way back in the third set when it grabbed a 3-0 lead and later an 8-4 advantage after a kill from Nicole Gill, but North Park used a 10-4 scoring run to capture a 14-12 lead on a pair of kills from both Williams and Brake. NP never lost the lead thereafter as it closed out the set and the match by scoring 11 of the set's final 20 points to earn the victory.
Along with Brake, Williams, Fasavalu and Partee all had six kills apiece while Nevoso added four. Gill led Calumet with seven kills.
North Park (3-11) returns to action this weekend when it competes at the Alverno College Inferno Classic Friday and Saturday. The Vikings take on the Illinois Institute of Technology at 3:45 p.m. Friday.
