CHICAGO, Ill. -- The North Park women's volleyball team won in four sets (25-18, 25-16, 20-25, 25-18) over the Carroll Pioneers on Friday night, finishing the 2023 season with a perfect 8-0 record in CCIW play.
It seemed as if the night, which began with a celebration of North Park's seniors, would end just as quickly as it started. North Park showed a senior-heavy starting lineup of Delaney Lynch, Carolina Aviles, Teiya Alagar, Raghen Walker, Jenna Jones, Christina Gatta, and Meg Rothermel, who drove six aces to open the first set. Three of those aces came from Gatta and junior outside hitter Adriana Rodriguez joined the action later, posting four kills.
North Park added seven more aces (four more from Gatta) in the second set while tallying four kills and a .281 hitting percentage. Junior middle blocker Shamyia Collier had four kills in the set while Alagar had three digs.
Aces a plenty tonight, with the Vikings racking up 19 throughout the match. Christina Gatta ties her career high at 10 aces (previously set vs Blackburn 09/07/19). She was accompanied by Adriana Rodriguez and Carolina Aviles with three each.
Carroll stole one away in the third set, 25-20, but North Park bounced back with its best set of the night. In the final set of the regular season, North Park hit .333 with an evening-best 17 kills, including seven from Rodriguez and three each from Collier and Rothermel.
Game Notes
- North Park led the Pioneers in kills 52-40. This was spearheaded by Adriana Rodriguez with 17. She was followed by Shamyia Collier with 13 and Raghen Walker with 6.
- CCIW setter of the week, Christina Gatta led the Vikings in assists with 33 out of the team's 47 on the night.
- Gatta also added an extremely rare triple-double with 10 aces, 10 digs, and the 33 assists
- Gatta led the CCIW with 0.79 aces per set and is only the second Viking since Shelby Switzer paced the circuit with 0.58 in 2010
- Gatta also led the league with 310 assists, marking the first time ever (33 years)
Record Book
- Gatta's 10 aces not only tied the school record she set against Blackburn as a freshman on 9/7/19, they brought her to 77 aces for the season -- which, appropriately ties the school record for aces in a season that she set as a freshman in 2019.
- The 19 team aces is tied for fifth-best all-time in all matches, and is third-best all-time in four-set matches
- Adriana Rodriguez tied Lauren Wiltsie for fourth in career points; they both have 1,555.
- Rodriguez is six kills away from tying Mallory Bieritz for third place in career kills.
Thank you to our senior class - L-R: Raghen Walker, Molly Steel-Miller, Delaney Lynch, Jenna Jones,
Christina Gatta, Bridget Feely, and Teiya Alagar
What's Next?
The Vikings host the CCIW Semifinals next Thursday, Nov. 9, against the winner of fifth seed Augustana and fourth seed Ilinois Wesleyan. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. back inside Carlson Tower and the North Park Gym.
