OSHKOSH, Wis. – The North Park women's volleyball team bowed out of the 2023 NCAA Regional at UW-Oshkosh on Thursday afternoon, falling to East Texas Baptist 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 26-28, 15-25).
North Park and East Texas Baptist traded kills and a service error back and forth as the match began tight at 3-3. The Vikings took the first advantage with seven-straight points on kills from Adriana Rodriguez, Kharlie Simeona-French, and Meg Rothermel, coupled by strong serves from Teiya Alagar, who added an ace. Though the Tigers briefly ate away at the Vikings' lead, following a handful of blocks, North Park would pull away for the 25-19 first set win when Rodriguez struck the 23rd point, Abby Ames added the 24th via kill, and Rothermel blocked down the set-clincher.
The second set's scoring was similar to the first, where neither team managed more than a two-point lead until the Tigers went on a 6-1 run on kills from Avery Reid and Rachael Spicer and a couple inconsistent attacks from the Vikings to put ETBU up, 12-9. However, back-to-back kills by Rodriguez and Simeona-French put the Vikings within a point at 13-12. When serving specialist Abby Ames began service, North Park tied the set up, 14-14, forcing an attacking error from the dangerous Graycee Mosley. Once more, the Tigers pulled ahead by three when an ace and quality cut shots led to a North Park timeout, Tigers 18, North Park 15. Kills by Collier and Rothermel next to a couple ETBU errors tied things up, 21-21, forcing a Tiger timeout. However, the Tigers rattled off four unanswered points to steal the set, 25-21. After hitting .282 in the first set, ETBU, held the Vikings to .061.
North Park stepped up in the third set, managing three aces, besting ETBU with a 15-13 kills advantage, and three blocks. However, the Tigers seemed to figure something out with NPU's offense as they blocked the Vikings five times and forced eight attack errors to pull ahead, two sets to one, in the 28-26 third-set win.
Unfortunately, the Tigers took a 4-0 lead in the fourth set and never looked back. Utilizing 13 kills and their match-best .233 hitting percentage, the Tigers ended the Vikings' season with a 25-15 fourth-set win.
Quick Hits:
- ETBU managed 11 blocks and 10 aces against the Vikings
- The Tigers' Hannah Perry had four blocks while Graycee Mosley and Avery Reid had 17 kills each
- Rhianna Huebner led the Vikings with three blocks
- Rodriguez, Collier, and Simeona-French reach double digit kills totals: 14, 10, and 10, respectively
- North Park ends their 2023 season with a CCIW title and Tournament Championship
Gatta's Last Stand:
The two-time CCIW Setter of the Year finished her career with 287 aces, ranking first all-time at North Park and the becomes second-highest total ever achieved by a CCIW women's volleyball player since Wheaton's Anna Howard (1995-96,98-99), had 346.
She's first all-time in career assists (3,749), third in assists per set (7.79), fourth in digs (1,557), sixth in sets played (481), and tenth in digs per set (3.24).
Thank You, Seniors
Thank you to the North Park senior class made up of Teiya Alagar, Christina Gatta, Jenna Jones, Delaney Lynch, and Raghen Walker. Your dedication and efforts have helped NPU Volleyball reach new heights, and you've set a new standard for the program and the CCIW.
