Pictures courtesy of Esther Miller
CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Vikings men's volleyball team swept through Augustana on Saturday evening's Senior Night, winning by scores of 25-11, 25-8, and 25-22. North Park moves to a 2-4 conference record with the win, giving them sole possession of 4th place in the CCIW.
NPU cruised through the night's opening two sets, allowing just 19 points combined across both victories while having multiple runs of 5+ points in each set. The team secured 16 kills in 53 attacks offensively while notching 9 aces, split evenly between seniors Noah Salazar and Alejandro Condoy as well as Emmanuel Eugene.
Set 3 was the closest of the night, with Augustana's 22 points surpassing their combined total from sets 1 and 2. The two Vikings sides stayed locked together through eleven points, when North Park proceeded to take the first big lead of the game on the back of a 4-0 run. However, Augustana immediately matched with a likewise run of their own to bring the score back even at 15-15. The back-and-forth ensued through 18-18 when four consecutive Augustana errors gave NPU a 22-18 cushion as match point drew near. Augustana mounted a late comeback effort, though it wasn't enough as Erik Bullard capped off senior night with his 10th kill to secure North Park's sweep.
Bullard's 10 kills were a team best matched by Emmanuel Eugene, with the two respectively hitting .286 and .292. At setter, Teddy Gedville and Alejandro Condoy split duties with the former marking 13 assists to Condoy's 12. Gedville and Sam Robinson marked 2 blocks each on defense while Eugene and Parker Payne tallied a solo block.
What's Next?
The Vikings travel to Bloomington, IL to face off with the Illinois Wesleyan Titans on Wednesday, March 29th. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 P.M., when North Park will look to pick up their first back-to-back wins of the conference season against an IWU squad that the Vikings bested in their last matchup.
