OHIO – The North Park volleyball continued one of the best starts in school history this weekend as they came out victorious in three of four matches on Friday and Saturday in Ohio. After defeated Hiram College 3-1 and 3-2, they fell 3-0 to John Carroll University, before toppling Oberlin College 3-1 in their final match.

GAME 1 vs Hiram College

Brilynd Pence was the hero in game one, helping lead a balanced offense to a convincing 3-1 victory. Pence and Adriana Rodriguez each had 13 kills, while Taylor Guy was right behind the duo with 12 to her credit. After Kharlie Simeona-French bamboozled the Terriers for two straight aces early in the first set, the Vikings coasted to a 25-17 set win. Hiram took set two, but NPU responded with a 25-13 routing in the third set, before closing the match out with a 25-18 performance in the fourth. Most plays involved Christina Gatta in one way or another as the junior setter had 39 assists and 17 digs.

FINAL: North Park 3, Hiram 1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-13, 25-18)

GAME 2 vs Hiram College

The Terriers bit back in the nightcap of the doubleheader. After NPU took the first two sets, Hiram answered with two sets of their own to force the contest into a fifth. North Park jumped in control and when a Guy kill set up match point for the Vikings, an ensuing attack error from the Terriers ended things and gave NPU an undefeated record on the day. That kill was one of 17 on the day for Guy, she led all Vikings. Gatta shattered had a career-high 52 assists, while Delaney Lynch held down the defense with 22 digs.

FINAL: North Park 3, Hiram 2 (25-18, 25-18, 16-25, 20-25, 15-10)

GAME 3 vs John Carroll University

The Vikings were down 24-22 in set one against the Blue Streaks but kills from Pence and Guy helped them climb back to knot it at 24-all. JCU regained their composure, however, and grabbed the final two points of the set to win it 26-24. While the Vikings kept it close in the second and third, NPU just couldn't scrape ahead, and Blue Streaks handed North Park their first non-conference loss of the year.

FINAL: John Carroll 3, North Park 0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-22)

GAME 4 vs Oberlin College

The Vikings finished the weekend on a high note, taking it to the Yeowomen in four sets. Oberlin kept it close each set, but the combination of Rodriguez and Guy just seemed to be too much to handle. Rodriguez put NPU up 23-21 late in the first set, and a few points later it was Emily Nytko getting in on the action with a kill of her own to win the first set 25-22. After exchanging sets two and three, North Park was down 22-23 in the fourth, looking to avoid heading to a fifth. Guy took over, getting a kill, then an ace, before a Rhianna Huebner kill pushed it to match point. Gatta took it into her own hands, and on the very next play snuck in a kill to win the match and send the Vikings home happy.

FINAL: North Park 3, Oberlin 1

What's Next?

The Vikings (8-2, 0-1 CCIW) have a big mid-week conference clash down in Decatur where they'll take on the No 17 Big Blue of Millikin University (9-1, 1-0 CCIW). That match is scheduled for 7 PM at the Griswold Center.