Photo credit: Paige Wilcox

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The North Park University women's volleyball team split a pair of matches in the Great Lake State, earning a straight-sets win over Kalamazoo (25-21, 28-26, 25-20) while losing in straight sets to Albion (23-25, 14-25, 11-25).

3-0 Win Over Kalamazoo

In the opening set of the match, North Park and Kalamazoo traded points for the entirety of the set, as neither team led by more than two points.

With the Hornets up, 20-18, the Vikings would score seven of the next eight points to take the set. In the come-from-behind run, freshman outside hitter Kailyn Matthews would tally three kills, senior Bethany Geidner added a block, and junior Kenzie Krueger drove a kill of her own.

The second set of the night followed suit, as neither team held much of an advantage. Now tied at 25-25, Geidner drove a kill to put the Vikings at set point. However, a service error tied the set once more.

Fortunately, Krueger would drive a kill for the next point and seniors Niki Ahlstrand and Kajsa Meyer teamed up for a block to earn their second set win, 28-26.

In the third and final set of the match, both teams would utilize spurts of scoring. The Vikings went up 5-2 after four-straight points, the Hornets stole a 10-5 lead with eight-straight points, and the Vikings closed the gap to 10-9 with four-straight points.

Next, after Kalamazoo went up 16-11, North Park notched seven-straight points and didn't look back. In the run, Meyer and Clement tallied a pair of kills each and the Hornets committed three errors.

Never losing the lead, North Park would take set three, and the match, 25-20.

3-0 Loss to Albion

Unfortunately, the Vikings could not keep their momentum against Albion, as their hitting percentage fell to .019 in the three-set loss.

Along the way, Albion utilized 10 service aces, 11 total blocks, and 35 kills to seep the Vikings.

Quick Hits:

• Ahlstrand posted a season-high four aces against Kalamazoo
• Krueger set a new career mark in kills with 11 
• Matthews led match one with 12 kills while Geidner led with four blocks
• The Vikings hit .228 in the win, their second highest this season

What's Next?

North Park (9-14, 0-5 CCIW) make the quick turnaround to host Governors State University and Alma College tomorrow, October 19, for a tri-match beginning at 3 p.m.