CHICAGO-

The North Park women's volleyball team hosted Concordia University-Chicago and the University of Chicago on Tuesday evening, opening up their home schedule with the North Park Tri.

University of Chicago vs North Park

The opening match of the tournament saw the University of Chicago first out of the gate, as they took the first two sets by scores of 25-14 and 25-18.

However, the Vikings would bounce back in their next two sets, winning the third at 25-19.

Seemingly neither team was able to widen their lead past one point in the fourth set. North Park appeared to pull away as they went up 18-16, but the Maroons rallied once more to tie the set at 19 all. 

Answering the bell, seniors Lauren Wiltsie and Kelly Clinton each notched a kill and Jocelyn Roesel added a service ace to jump ahead to a 22-19 lead. 

Unfortunately, a pair of self-inflicted errors by the Vikings would bring the Maroons within striking distance once more, as they took a 27-26 lead. 

In the set that refused to end, North Park and UChicago found themselves knotted up at 33 all. After a Maroon service error, Jocelyn Roesel put the nail in the coffin of the 4th set, marking a kill for the 35th point of the set.

The Vikings would continue the same pattern in their 5th set, trading attacks through an even score of 10 before taking the lead at 14-11. Yet, the Maroons chipped away yet again, battling back to tie the set 15-15 and, finally, the match.

FINAL: North Park 2, U-Chicago 3

Concordia-Chicago vs North Park

The Vikings found their groove against the Cougars.

In their first set of the match, the Vikings ran away with a 25-11 victory. Looking to outdo themselves, the Vikings then took the second set by a score of 25-9. The powerful Viking attack scored 14 straight points on their way to a second set victory and took the fourth and final set 25-14.

Three different Vikings cracked double-digit kills: Lauren Wiltsie (13), Niki Ahlstrand (10), and Kelly Clinton (10). Mia Riccolo also added defensive support with a season-best 23 digs in the match.

FINAL: North Park 3, Concordia-Chicago 1

Top Performers

• Lauren Wiltsie marked a season-best 24 kills against the University of Chicago and added 13 more against Concordia-Chicago.
• Jocelyn Roesel had a team-leading 3 aces alongside 8 kills
• Kelly Clinton totaled 10 kills and 3 blocks against U-Chicago, including a .426 attack percentage against the Cougars
• Kajsa Meyer notched a new season-best 47 assists against Concordia-Chicago as well as tallying her first two blocks of the season

What's Next?

The Vikings (3-2) return to action this Friday at 7:00 PM for their annual North Park Quad. They will square off against non-conference opponent Knox College (3-2).