North Park took on the Sabres in the first match of the day, and after going down 0-2 after the first 2 sets, the Vikings completed the first ever reverse sweep in program history. Sets 1 and 2 were decided by just 5 total points, so the writing was on the wall for a Vikings comeback. The next two sets saw them out score Marian by 15 combined, setting up a dominant 5th set that went final at a score of 15-8.
The Vikings set a number of individual highs in the match, but none can compete with Emmanuel Eugene's new school record of 27 kills. Eugene beats out himself for this honor, blowing right past the 21 kills he had against Benedictine. While that game was only 4 sets, Emmanuel's 5.4 kills/set from today just surpasses the 5.25 from that aforementioned game, which also marks a new school record.
Along with that record-setting performance, Quinn Robinson, Ty Ingrao, and Teddy Gedville all set personal bests in the win as well. Robinson's 16 kills and 5 blocks are both career highs for the junior. Meanwhile, freshman Ty Ingrao had his best game of his career. His 9 kills stand out for the outside hitter, but Ingrao set personal records in all major statistical categories. Setter Teddy Gedville played a huge role setting all those kills up with his season-high 46 assists.
The Vikings next matchup of the day came against the #13 ranked Cal Lutheran Kingsmen. As with the last game, North Park went down 0-2 early on, but the tides shifted in the 3rd set as the Vikings came out with a 26-24 victory. Sadly, the school's second reverse sweep will have to wait for another day as the Kingsmen took care of business in the 4th set, winning 25-15.
Emmanuel Eugene had to temporarily exit due to an injury, but he still managed to produce another monster game with 20 kills—bringing his total on the day to 47 across 9 sets. Teddy Gedville too dealt with injuries today, but unlike Eugene he had to remain sidelined. Setter Alejandro Condoy filled in well with 20 assists, and the Vikings also got great contributions from Johnny Euler with 19 assists. Euler normally plays right side hitter for North Park, but his versatility was on full display tonight as he handled setting responsibilities admirably in Gedville's absence.
The Vikings next matchup will be part of another tri-match on Saturday, March 26th where they'll host the Millikin Big Blue and UC-Santa Cruz. These mark the team's last home games of the regular season. As such, North Park will be honoring their seniors as they take the floor in front of the home crowd one last time. For the men's team, that is synonymous with "Erik Bullard Day", so come out to support the Vikings and Bullard at 2:00 PM against Millikin and at 7:00 PM against UC-Santa Cruz.
