CHICAGO, Ill. -- North Park Men's Volleyball posted some of their best line totals of the season in a four-set win (25-18, 28-26, 21-25, 25-12) over Illinois Wesleyan University on Wednesday night.
The Vikings were lights out in the first two sets, bringing the energy right away thanks to blocks by seniors Sam Robinson and Teddy Gedville.Â
North Park had a balanced attack in the first set, led by three kills from sophomore Gerald Malana and three each from Robinson and Gedville. The Vikings out-blocked the Titans, 4-3, in the set, adding a solo from Robinson. The Titans struggled with serving all night, showing six errors in the first set.
Another balanced attack in the fourth set - where six different Vikings had at least two kills - was highlighted by four kills each from freshman Jan Dragan and senior Ty Ingrao. Gedville assisted on seven of those kills, as he and fellow senior setter Liam Miller guided the Vikings to a .407 hitting percentage in the second set.Â
The Titans, who struggled to produce much of an offense in the first set, responded with their best set of the night in set two, hitting. 333 with 15 kills. Bryce Williams spearheaded that attack with six kills and a .556 hitting percentage. However, seven tie scores managed to go North Park's way as the Vikings were preparing for a sweep.
Five North Park errors and an IWU ace forced the Vikings to play catch up all of set three. They nearly did so, trailing 20-15, when two Titan service errors and three kills by Malana closed the gap to 21-20. Illinois Wesleyan would capture four of the next five points, though, avoiding a straight-sets loss.
The two teams traded points in the fourth set before a pair of kills by Ingrao and ace for Gedville gave North Park some breathing room, 6-4. The Vikings didn't flinch from that point on as North Park only grew its lead with a runaway 25-12 win.  Ingrao hit .571 in the set with five kills as the Vikings received a perfect 1.000 in the deciding 25 points.
Quick Hits:
- Ingrao and Malana with a match-leading 14 kills each
- Career high seven kills for Dragan
- Robinson with six blocks, Ingrao and Johnsamson add four each
- Four blocks for Ingrao is a career high
- IWU's Gavin Rohlwing had a match-leading seven blocks
- Three aces for IWU's Brenden Reutter
- Vikings hit .279 with 42 digs and 11 blocks in the win
- 11 blocks in a four-set match ties for the most all-time at NPU
What's Next?
North Park (9-6, 2-1 CCIW) hosts No. 18-ranked North Central College (8-5, 1-2 CCIW) this coming Saturday, March 1, at 3:00 PM CT.
