CHICAGO, Ill. -- The North Park women's volleyball team opened the 2023 season at home with their annual two-day Invite.. The Vikings won 3-2, 3-1, and 3-2 across three matches on Friday and Saturday.
North Park's first contest of the year was against the University of Wisconsin - River Falls on Friday afternoon. The Vikings came out hot, winning the first two sets of the day, 25-18, twice. The Falcons pushed back and forced a fifth set with a 25-16 and 25-23 set wins. North Park pulled it out in the fifth set, 15-7.
2022 First Team All-American Adriana Rodriguez picked up 18 kills and six aces to lead the Vikings. Those six aces in a five-set match are good for fourth in the NPU record book. Sophomore middle blocker Shamyia Collier added 12 kills while junior outside hitter Kharlie Simeona-French neared double-digits with nine.
The Vikings second match of the day was against Pacific University. North Park was able to pick up the win a little quicker, using four sets of action. NPU improved in each set they play, starting out with a hitting percentage of .054 in the first set before ending the night with a .357 attack in the fourth set. In total, North Park drove nine more service aces, including two each from Rodriguez, Simeona-French, senior setter Jenna Jones, and sophomore libero Carolina Aviles. They also held the Boxers to just a .073 hitting percentage across the four sets.
Adriana Rodriguez picks up another 15 kills in the win while senior setter Christina Gatta tallied 26 assists.
On Saturday night, North Park faced off against St. Norbert for their final match of the weekend. The first four sets were a back-and-forth battle. The Vikings were able to take the first two with relative ease, but St. Norbert would not go quietly, earning 25-20 and 25-23 third and fourth set wins. North Park put their foot back on the gas pedal in the fifth set, though, winning 15-5 to secure a tournament sweep.
Rodriguez tallied another 18 kills, junior middle blocker Rhianna Huebner had a career best six blocks and Gatta had her first match with 40+ assists this season, ending with 41 in the five-setter.
On the weekend, the Vikings totaled an impressive 38 service aces and blocked 23.5 attacks from their opposition. Rodriguez leads NPU with 11 aces, Aviles has eight, and Jones is in third with seven. Defensively, Huebner has reached double digit blocks with 10 while Simeona-French and Gatta account for eight and seven, respectively.
All-Tournament Nod
Rodriguez and Aviles secured 2023 NPU Invite All-Tournament team honors for their three-match performances. Aviles totaled 64 digs (4.57 per set) and eight aces, including five against St. Norbert. Rodriguez racked up 51 kills (3.64 per set) with 11 aces and four blocks.
What's Next?
North Park (3-0) is back in action at Benedictine University on Tuesday, September 4. First serve in Lisle is set for 6:00 PM CST.
