CHICAGO, Ill. -- North Park men's volleyball authored its best burst of the season in Saturday's opening set, outlasting Trine 25-21 at Carlson Gymnasium before the Thunder rallied to take the match 3-1 (21–25, 25–19, 25–11, 25–19).

The Vikings came out in rhythm, attacking at a high clip and hitting .400 (17-3-35). Freshman Kevin Motallebi distributed early kills to freshman Isaac Vroom and junior Gerald Buhain Malana for an 8-5 lead, and after Trine drew level at 8-8, the frame featured 11 ties and four lead changes.

With the score 18-18, North Park strung together decisive points: junior Giovanni Serafini hammered a transition ball, freshman Josiah Walker scored on the left for 21-18, Malana added two more kills, and senior Jonah Johnsamson's swing set up set point at 24-21 before Serafini closed it with an ace.

Trine answered in the second, hitting .324 to even the match 25-19, then controlled the third behind a .444 attack in a 25-11 result and finished the night 25-19 in the fourth.

A pair of career highs for hitters as Vroom led North Park with 11 kills (.208) and Serafini added eight kills and four total blocks. Motallebi also posted a career high 35 assists as the Vikings totaled 44 kills. Senior libero Zachary Hayden paced the defense with nine digs.

What's Next?

North Park (1-19, 0-5 CCIW) has a week away from competition before returning to conference action next Saturday, March 21, against North Central College. First serve, which will include a senior day ceremony, is set for 3:00 PM CT.