Chicago, Il., -- North Park Men's Volleyball (0-1, 0-0) plays their second game tonight against the Edgewood University Eagle (0-3, 0-0) in Madison, Wisconsin and tomorrow night against Adrian College (0-3, 0-0) as all three teams are looking for their first win of the season. The Vikings are coming off a six-day rest since their home opener against Dominican University, where they fell to the Stars 3-0; however, there is plenty to build on from that game, as senior hitter Gerald Buhain Malana got hot with three straight aces with senior libero Zachary Hayden led the Vikings with 10 assists.
Edgewood is coming off a 3-1 loss to #14 Loras College on Tuesday, playing them close in two of the for sets, and before that they fell to Viking rival Illinois Wesleyan 3-1 as well. Offensively, both the Eagles and Vikings will look to improve their hitting numbers since both teams are hitting at a sub .200 success rate, however the Vikings have only played one game and can significantly improve their .112 hitting percentage in just one match. The Eagles have shown through three games that they have a knack for blocking opposing hitters, logging ten solo and 42 assisted blocks so far, with Owen Hartjes notching four of those ten solo blocks. As a team they are holding teams to a .187 hitting percentage with opponents having already made 73 errors on their kill attempts.
The Eagles, much like the Vikings, have a very young team with two freshman leading the team in kills in Oakley Griggs (33) and Cade Schueller (26), sophomore Carsyn Stringfellow showcasing his serving ability with four aces so far, and sophomore Ethan Hoffert leading the team with 90 assists already through three games. Head coach Brittany Welch and the Vikings will have to be sound defensively to stop this high scoring Eagles attack. Tonight's matchup between the Vikings and Edgewood University is set to start at 7pm in Madison, Wisconsin.
North Park will make a quick turnaround after tonight's game to play a home game against the Adrian College Bulldogs on Friday night. The Bulldogs will be coming off a six-day hiatus from gameplay after dropping two sets on January 17th against Curry College and Rivier University. Being that Adrian College is making the trip from Michigan, their matchup against North Park is one of two matches they'll play in Chicago as they play Dominican University on Saturday, January 24th. Opposing teams are hitting .234 against the Bulldogs while they themselves are hitting a .101 clip offensively, setting the Vikings up to potentially find their rhythm. Defensively they're logging over 9 digs per set, doing a good job of keeping the ball alive and in play for kill opportunities but have struggled to do so in their first three games; opposing teams are blocking 2.4 kills per set and have found success when two or more players go up for a block, notching 40 assisted blocks against the Bulldogs this season. Veteran hitter Sam Landers is rolling right now for Adrian, with 45 kills already through three matches (15 kills/match rate), in part to his setter Andrew Graczyk tallying 73 assists so far.
The Vikings will take on the Bulldogs in the Carlson Gymnasium on Friday, January 23rd at 7pm.
