WHEATON, Ill. – The North Park women's volleyball team knew they needed to win on Wednesday night against Wheaton College to stand any chance of qualifying for the CCIW tournament. They also knew they needed a loss by North Central against Augustana to help them get in. Well, after they took care of business against the Thunder 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-17), they received the news that NCC had dropped their match with Augie by a score of 3-0, and that North Park would be playing postseason volleyball.
The Vikings got off to a rocky start, falling in the first set 25-21. However, with the season to play for, North Park would not be denied down the stretch. Adriana Rodriguez and Shamyia Collier each got kills to start the second set, followed by two Wheaton attacking errors that made it 4-0. Once the Thunder made it even again, neither side could find a firm upper hand for the rest of the set. Finally, with the score knotted at 23, senior Brily Pence came up with a huge kill down the line to push it to set point. From there, Taylor Guy crushed a block onto the Thunder side of the net to win the set by the thinnest of margins, 25-23.
The third set was another tug-of-war between the sides as nobody gained a tremendous advantage until the Vikings went on a five-point run with Katy Chess serving. An ace from Chess, as well as kills from Pence, Guy, and Christina Gatta put NPU up 17-13. The Thunder soon answered that run with one of their own, as Wheaton ending up finding a 21-20 advantage. After an error from Wheaton evened it at 21, Raghen Walker gave the visitors a lead they would not surrender. Rodriguez grabbed two more kills and Walker finished off the set to win it for NPU, 25-22.
Just seven miles away, the Augie-NCC game went final in Naperville, giving North Park control of their own destiny. The Vikings kept their eyes on the prize as they shot out to an 8-1 lead to start the set and never looked back. After a career night, the freshman Rodriguez fittingly ended the match when she picked up her 23rd kill of the evening. With the win, the Vikings earned the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament, where they will match up with No. 3 Elmhurst on Tuesday, November 2nd.
Quick Hits:
- Rodriguez exploded for 23 kills, the second most by any CCIW player all season. It is also the most for a Viking since Lauren Wiltsie had 23 against Knox on Sept. 16, 2016, as well as the most recorded against a CCIW opponent since at least 2013. She also added two aces and 11 digs.
- Gatta made a splash with 53 assists and 12 digs. Her 53 assists is the most recorded by a Viking in a four-set match since at least 2013, it is also the most assists recorded by a player in a four-set CCIW match since Millikin's Emily Mihalkanin registered 54 against North Central on October 4, 2016.
- Guy with nine kills and two blocks.
- Libero Teiya Alagar contributed in the back with 15 digs, while Pence was crucial for the attack with 11 kills.
What's Next?
The Vikings (16-10, 3-5 CCIW) head to Pella, Iowa this weekend where they'll take on Iowa Wesleyan (1-22), Central College (15-10), and Illinois College (11-12). The first matchup is on Friday, October 29th at 5 PM.
