CHICAGO, Ill. -- The No. 15-ranked North Park Women's Volleyball team suffered a pair of straight-set losses to Carthage and No. 23 U-Chicago on Saturday night. 

In the first match of the doubleheader, against the Firebirds, North Park found trouble finding its groove. Carthage unleashed a .481 hitting percentage in the opening set, driving a match-leading 16 kills in the opener. North Park managed 10 kills, but dropped the set 25-19.

Carthage had a blip in the second set, driving only six kills while North Park had a dozen, but the Vikings still suffered a 25-20 loss. 

In the final set of the conference contest, North Park hit just .100 while Carthage spiked back of to .343 with 15 kills. 

Senior outside hitter Adriana Rodriguez led all players on the court with 11 kills while Carthage's Kaitie Rohe posted nine. The Firebirds' Ella Pettinger led the match with six blocks while Rodriguez drove three aces for NPU.

Against the Maroons, North Park had a similar match. Stat-for-stat, the game appear close. However, Chicago put together better runs thanks to quality passing and timely attacks to put the Vikings away in three.

U-Chicago's Amelia Gibbs led all players with 11 kills while Hillary Cheung had four aces. Three blocks each for U-Chicago's Keeley Kandziora, Gibbs, and Gabi Spellings. 

North Park senior middle blocker Rhianna Huebner led all players with four blocks while junior outside hitter SaeAuna Reynolds added three. Freshman libero Ella Rael added a dozen digs.

What's Next?

North Park looks to snap a five-match skid at Gregory Arena next Wednesday, October 9, against the North Central Cardinals. First serve in Naperville is set for 7:00 PM CT.