Photo credit: Paige Wilcox
CHICAGO, Ill. -- A strong start for the North Park University women's volleyball team fell flat, as the Vikings fell to the Benedictine University Eagles, 1-3, on Wednesday night.
The Vikings got off to an emphatic start, as freshman Christina Gatta drove three service aces while freshman Emily Nytko and senior Reagan Clement drove a pair of kills to put North Park up 5-0.
Benedictine would get on the board, but an ace from Clement and three attacking errors from the Eagles extended the Vikings' lead to 9-2.
Piling on, an ace from freshman Kate Widman, kills from freshman Kailyn Matthews and senior Niki Ahlstrand, and another Benedictine attacking error gave the Vikings a double-digit lead at 14-3.
The Eagles would put up a fight towards the end of the set, but the Vikings would come out on top with a first set win of 25-18.
Unfortunately, North Park would hit sub-.200 in each of the next three sets as Benedictine stole a 3-1 win.
FINAL: Benedictine 3, North Park 1
Quick Hits:
- Gatta tacked on five more aces, bringing her season total to 51
- Clement followed with three aces, as the Vikings struck 12 as a team
- Ahlstrand led the Vikings with 12 kills
- Benedictine's Taylor Dunwell led both teams with 20 kills and a pair of blocks
What's Next?
North Park (11-3, 0-2 CCIW) travels to Kenosha, Wis. to take on a tough College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) opponent in Carthage College. The Lady Reds were ranked No. 5 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Top 25 poll. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
