Thanks to Angelina Azzo for the pictures

CHICAGO, Ill. -- The North Park women's volleyball team took on Elmhurst this Wednesday evening, winning 3 sets to 1 by scores of 25-21, 25-18, 21-25, and 25-19.

Christina Gatta opened the 1^st set up with a 3-0 lead that Elmhurst never managed to overcome. By the second time it was Gatta's turn to serve, that lead had grown to a high of 14-6. Elmhurst soon mounted a comeback that brought the score all the way to 15-13, but the Vikings found their composure from there on out. The Vikings fittingly closed out Set 1 with another 3-0 run that saw Gatta at the back line. 

Set 2 was North Park's strongest of the match. Elmhurst started off with an ace, but the game belonged to the Vikings from there on out. Carolina Aviles notched back-to-back aces that sent the lead to 9-3, and on her next round of service came through again with another ace to go up 22-12. Elmhurst again made a valiant comeback effort, though ultimately fell short by a score of 25-18.

Elmhurst's momentum to close Set 2 carried over into the 3^rd. North Park's early 3-1 lead was soon erased by the Blue Jays, who eventually would pull away towards the middle of the set. The score settled at 21-25, marking the Vikings lone dropped set of the day.

The 4^th set saw North Park get back into the swing of things. It was a tightly contested set throughout the first half, with the Vikings down 12-14 before Carolina Aviles got the ball to serve. She continued her monstrous day from the back line with a 5-point run of service. Adriana Rodriguez finished off 4 of those points in that span. It was then Rodriguez' turn to take over with a 5-point service run of her own that included 2 aces. That took the Vikings to their 24^th point, and Annaliese Rottman soon wrapped up the match with a kill off the assist from Christina Gatta. 

Carolina Aviles brought both offense and defense to the table, racking up 3 aces and 20 digs. Jenna Jones and Adriana Rodriguez picked up 2 aces of their own, with Rodriguez also marking a team-high 17 kills. Kailyn Matthews and Rhianna Huebner led the Vikings with 2 block apiece. Setter Christina Gatta amassed 34 assists which represents her 2^ndmost of the season. 

Next Up

North Park hosts the NPU invite this Friday and Saturday, September 23^rd and 24^th. They will play back-to-back games on Friday against U Chicago and Kean at 4:30 and 7:00 PM, respectively. On Saturday, the Vikings take on Baldwin at 12:30 PM and UW-Oshkosh at 5:30 PM.