Pictures: Angelina Azzo

CHICAGO, Ill. -- The NPU Women's Volleyball team capped off their regular season on Saturday by honoring the careers of seniors Katy Chess, Christina Gatta, and Jewel Schroeder as the team faced University of Dubuque, winning 3-1.

The match started off fittingly as serving specialist Katy Chess rattled off 3 straight aces to set the tone for Senior Day, as that would be a common theme for the Vikings who eventually finished the contest by tying the school record of 23 aces set on September 7, 2019. Chess secured one more ace to make it 4 total while fellow senior Christina Gatta poured in 8 of her own—both marking season highs. Adriana Rodriguez and Carolina Aviles also matched Chess with 4 aces each.

Set 1 closed with a Jewel Schroeder kill setup by Christina Gatta, finishing at a score of 25-15. NPU would then drop Set 2 to the Spartans. Dubuque maintained a sizable lead throughout most of the second set, though a late Vikings comeback effort brought the final score to 23-25. North Park bounced back to claim Set 3 which again started with 3 straight aces, this time courtesy of Christina Gatta. The Vikings controlled from start to finish to end with a score of 25-18, and they carried that momentum into the 4^th and final set that again wound at 25-15. Over Sets 3 and 4, North Park led for all but 2 points and never found themselves trailing. 

The Vikings close out the 2022 season with a 21-8 overall record on the back of the win and hold the #2 seed in the CCIW Tournament after going 5-3 in conference play. Following a first-round bye, the Vikings will host the winner between #3 Millikin and #6 Illinois Wesleyan on Thursday, November 3^rd.