KENOSHA, Wis. – North Park men's volleyball took nationally fourth-ranked Carthage College to five sets on Saturday afternoon, falling 15-5 in the fifth and final set. North Park is the only unranked team to push the Firebirds to five sets this season.
The night opened with a showcase set at Tarble Arena, as both teams combined for just five errors. North Park drove 15 kills and hit at a .444 clip while the Firebirds drove 13 kills but kept a .550 attack percentage. However, Carthage came away with the opening set win, 25-20.
Next, Carthage turned in an impressive second set, driving 17 kills with just four errors. North Park's offense stalled a bit with five kills and a .037 attacking percentage but the Vikings would blitz back in the next two sets.
The third set featured two-point lead trades all the way to the 25th point. Trailing 22-21, a Firebird service error and kill by Emmanuel Eugene put the Vikings up by one. Following a Carthage kill, another service error and a big block by Teddy Gedville gave the Vikings a 25-23 third-set win.
Fourth-set action featured an early 8-5 Carthage lead on a North Park service error, kills by Zach Bulthuis and a Viking attack error. The Firebirds maintained a three-point lead, 14-11, before a service error, Ty Ingrao kill, and Erik Bullard service ace tied everything up, 14-14. Carthage tallied the next point, but two Firebird attack errors and kills by Noah Salazar, Bullard, Eugene, and Ingrao gave the Vikings their most significant lead of the match, 20-15.
Carthage made things interesting with a four-point run and, eventually, tying the set up 21-21. However, a Carthage ball handling error and kills by Vicente Cabrera and Eugene secured a 25-22 fourth-set win, forcing a fifth set.
Unfortunately, the Firebirds were perfect in the final set of the night, attacking at a .800 clip with eight kills to steal the match away, 15-5.
Quick Hits:
What's Next?
North Park (6-4, 0-1 CCIW) has a week off before returning to action on Feb. 25 for a pair of games against Concordia (WI) and St. Norbert. Tipoff at the NPU Gym is set for noon and 2pm.
