CHICAGO, Ill. -- The North Park women's volleyball team engineered a reverse sweep of No. 6 UW-Whitewater before winning in four sets against No. 3 Hope on Friday night. The Vikings overcame a fast-paced attack alongside a tall frontline in the historic wins.
Things seemed bleak after North Park dropped their first two sets of the afternoon 25-17 and 25-16, hitting in the negatives (-.067 / -.152) against a tall Warhawk blocking brigade. However, North Park got its juice back in an extra-play 27-25, gritty third-set win before securing 25-20 and 15-8 fourth and fifth set triumphs.
After the slow start, North Park was able to lead in kills (45-39), aces (12-11), assists (41-35), and digs (86-84). 34 of those assists came from senior setter Christina Gatta, who became North Park's all-time assists leader in the match.
- Junior outside hitter Adriana Rodriguez led Vikings in kills with 14 and was flowed by freshman middle blocker Meg Rothermel and junior middle blocker Shamyia Collier with 10 and 9 each.
- Sophomore libero Carolina Aviles stacked up a team-leading and season-high five aces. Gatta recorded 4 of her own.
- Junior opposite hitter Kharlie Simeona-French, junior middle blocker Rhianna Huebner, and Collier all record two blocks on the night.
- As for digs, Aviles led with 22. Rodriguez and Gatta followed behind with 15 and 14, respectively.
The second match of the day had the Vikings matched up against No. 3 ranked Hope College. North Park lost the first set of the match 25-22 before rattling off three-straight wins, 25-23, 25-10, 25-18 to close out the night with victories against two top-10 opponents.
- This match highlighted the lethal threat of the Vikings' service game, as they drove a season second-best 15 in the nightcap. Gatta led the way with five more aces, senior setter Jenna Jones had four, and Rodriguez posted three.
- Gatta ended the day with a total of 65 assists, elevating her newly-established assists record to 3,565.
- Career high seven blocks for Rothermel, two for Rodriguez and Simeona-French.
- Senior defensive specialist Teiya Alagar was all over the court for NPU, digging out 14 attacks.
Lookin' at the Books:
- First win over UW-Whitewater since 1979
- Rothermel's seven blocks against Hope is tied for fourth-best all-time in all matches, and third-best all-time in four-set matches.
- The 15 team aces against Hope is the fifth-best all-time in a four-set match.
What's Next?
The work's not quite yet finished for North Park (21-6, 6-0 CCIW) as the Vikings head up to Kenosha, Wisconsin for a CCIW faceoff against Carthage College this Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 7:00 pm. A North Park win and a Millikin loss (to Augustana) would guarantee the Vikings' first-ever league title.
