De Pere, WI., -- The North Park men's volleyball team kicked off a busy double-header on the road Thursday afternoon, taking the floor at the Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center to face St. Norbert College. In a match defined by gritty defensive stands and razor-thin margins, the Vikings (1-17) pushed the Green Knights in every frame but ultimately fell in straight sets (21-25, 23-25, 21-25).
The story of match one was North Park's relentless presence at the net. The Vikings' frontline held the defensive edge at the net over the Green Knights with a 15-7 margin in blocks. However, St. Norbert's offensive efficiency and hometown crowd eventually allowed them to edge out the victory in three tightly contested sets.
Jan Dragan and Adekunle Adebayo established themselves early, combining for a series of blocks that kept the Green Knights' attackers off-balance. The Vikings stayed within striking distance throughout, trailing 20-21 late in the set after a kill by Isaac Vroom. However, St. Norbert found a late 4-1 surge to take the opening frame 25-21. The second set was the most competitive of the match, featuring five ties and a late North Park lead. Josiah Walker and Giovanni Serafini joined the defensive effort, fueling a comeback that saw the Vikings lead 22-21 following a kill by Vroom. Unfortunately, the Green Knights responded with another a 4-1 run of their own, sparked by Noah Cullen, to steal the set 25-23 and take a 2-0 match lead.
North Park refused to go quietly in the third. Kevin Motallebi and Sebastian Castro did an excellent job distributing the offense, finding Dragan for multiple late-set kills. After falling behind 20-24, the Vikings fought off a match point thanks to another Dragan and Motalebbi connection. St. Norbert's Kaden Kornaus delivered the final blow to secure the 25-21 win and the match sweep.
The opening set of match two against the Westminster Blue Jays, the Vikings struggled to find their rhythm, as the Blue Jays got out to early jump. Raphael de sousa Macedo and Isaac Vroom provided a spark for North Park with early kills, and a service ace by Vroom briefly cut the deficit to 8-5. However, Westminster's Derrick Turner and Brady Sickles found some points late against the Viking defense.  The frame ended decisively at 25-11. The second frame began with a 7-0 run by the Blue Jays. Sebastian Castro entered the match to provide a spark, tallying several assists to Walker and Nolan Edkin, but the Blue Jay attack remained relentless, hitting .565 as a unit. Westminster maintained their cushion throughout the set, ultimately taking a 25-12 victory.
in the most competitive set of the night, North Park and Westminster exchanged haymakers taking the game to extra points. Adebayo recorded some critical kills throughout to keep the Vikings close as the teams changed leads 16 times. Joah Johnsamson and Castro gave North Park a set point at 25-24. Westminster fended off the set point, and the two teams continued their back and forth with the score reaching 27-27. A kill by Derrick Turner gave the Blue Jays the advantage, followed by Brady Sickles making the kill to end the set 29-27.
The Vikings' next game will be back home after a long three game road stint, hosting Trine College on Saturday, Matrch 14th at 3pm.
