CHICAGO -- In their first-ever home game as a program, the North Park University men's volleyball team fell to NAIA foe St. Xavier University 3-0 on Friday night.
The Cougars wasted no time in the opening set, working their way to an 11-3 lead after a pair of attacking errors from the Vikings and kills from St. Xavier's Justin McCarthy and Aaron Kummer.
Saint Xavier carried a .333 hitting percentage through the first set, marking 13 kills while North Park carried just a .045 hitting percentage with 6 kills.
North Park responded with their best set of the night, picking up 11 kills. Unfortunately, the Cougars carried a steady .281 hitting percentage and marked a match-best 15 kills in the set to win 25-20.
In their third set, the Vikings marked the first three points of the set after a shaky string of offense from the Cougars. Angelo Johns and Frank Mauigoa tallied a pair of kills to keep their lead at a safe distance of 6-4.
The Cougars would tie the set 8-8 after a kill from Andrew Bergstrand, but the Vikings' Arthur Barczak sent in a kill of his own to recapture the lead at 9-8.
North Park would benefit from three-straight St. Xavier attacking errors, but the Cougars would weather the storm.
Despite a close set at 17-17, the Cougars would take eight of the next ten points to win in straight sets, 25-19.
FINAL: North Park 0, St. Xavier 3 (14-25, 20-25, 19-25)
Quick Hits:
What's Next?
North Park (3-4) makes the short drive to River Forest, Illinois to take on the Dominican University Stars next Friday, February 8, at 7:00 p.m.
