CHICAGO, Ill. -- The North Park women's volleyball team improves their CCIW record to a perfect 6-0 after beating Augustana in five sets (25-22, 24-26, 22-25, 25-21, 15-3) on Friday night. This win snaps Augustana's seven-match winning streak and puts NPU in a great position for its first-ever CCIW title.
North Park led in kills (71-47), assists (67-43), and digs (86-68) while Augustana out-blocked North Park, 8-3. The Vikings from Chicago were able to hold Augustana to a measly .146 hitting percentage compared to a .233 of their own.
North Park took the lead winning the first se,t 25-22. Augustana responded well and won the second and third with scores of 26-24 and 25-22, respectively. North Park decided they had had enough and won the fourth set 25-21 and the fifth set 15-3, which included a seven-point serving streak from senior setter Christina Gatta.
Junior outside hitter Adriana Rodriguez led the team with 19 kills on the night, bringing her season total to a CCIW third-best 332. Rodriguez was accompanied by junior middle blockers Rhianna Huebner and Shamyia Collier with 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Huebner's 13 kills ties a career high and is a new season high for her.
Junior opposite hitter Kharlie Simeona-French and freshman middle blocker Meg Rothermel led the team's defense with four blocks each. Huebner followed close behind with three for herself.
Christian Gatta set a new career high in assists with 54 on the night, outdoing her previous high of 53. Gatta once again finds herself on top of the CCIW assists leader board, now up to 796.
As for digs, Rodriguez led the Vikings with 21, closely followed along by Gatta and Simeona-French with 16 and 12 each.
What's Next?
The Vikings head up to Steven's Point, Wisconsin for a doubleheader against #2 University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, followed by another ranked match against #17 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The first match begins tomorrow, October 21, at 4:00pm.
