CHICAGO, Ill. -- North Park Women's Volleyball clinched a spot in the 2024 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament with a sweeping win (25-9, 31-29, 25-11) over Augustana College on Wednesday night. The Vikings will enter the league's postseason tournament as the five seed.
North Park blitzed Augustana out of the gate in the first set. The Vikings from Chicago took advantage of three errors by the Vikings from Rock Island and were further boosted by kills from senior outside hitter Adriana Rodriguez and Debbie Dinkel. North Park held Augustana to just three kills and a miniscule -.067 hitting percentage while drive 16 kills and hitting .400 on their side. Rodriguez led all players with eight kills in the set while sophomore outside hitter Rian Hobbs and senior setter Mary Kate Giesen added four digs each. Dinkel added three kills to the high-powered attack.
Fortitude was the focus in the second set of the night. The two teams traded leads early in the set before North Park broke away for the first time, 15-11, on kills by Rodriguez and misplays by the Augustana offense. However, North Park was hit with its own inconsistencies on offense, allowing Augustana to tie things up, 18-18. Kills by Rodriguez and Hobbs, along with a service error by Augie, put North Park at 24-20 set point. Yet, Augustana's Kylie Collachia and Carmela Carbone led a charge that forced extra play, tying things up at 25-25. Augustana had three chances to tie the match up but errant play on offense coupled with a service ace by senior rightside hitter Kharlie Simeona French and a kill by Hobbs gave North Park a 31-29, hard-earned win.
The final set of the night showcased how locked in the North Park defense was. Seemingly in the right spot for every Augustana swing, North Park took a 1-0 lead on a Rodriguez kill and never looked back. In the third set alone, the Vikings had 16 digs and three blocks. Dinkel had six digs while Giesen and junior libero Carolina Aviles added four each. Sophomore middle blocker Meg Rothermel was in on three blocks and Dinkel was in on a pair to lead NPU to a sweeping victory.
Quick Hits:
- Rodriguez with another double-double: 18 kills and 12 digs
- Dinkel and Rothermel in on six blocks
- The duos six blocks apiece tie a three-set all-time record at North Park
- 24 assists for Giesen
What's Next?
North Park (12-14, 3-4 CCIW) is right back in action tomorrow, Nov. 2, for a non-conference match with No. 17 UW-Platteville. First serve is set for 7:00 PM inside Carlson Gym.
