Naperville, Il., -- North Park Men's Volleyball traveled to Naperville, Illinois on Wednesday night for a conference showdown against North Central College. Despite a resilient defensive effort and a double-digit kill performance from Gerald Buhain Malana, the Vikings (1-14, 0-3 CCIW) were unable to overcome the efficient Cardinals, falling in straight sets (13-25, 21-25, 23-25).  North Central opened the match with high efficiency, hitting .529 in the opening frame. The Vikings looked to establish their service game early, as Adekunle Adebayo, Jan Dragan, and Josiah Walker each recorded aces to keep NPU competitive. However, the Cardinals' offensive balance proved too much, as they pulled away for a 25-13 win late in the set.

North Park responded with a much more competitive second set, featuring four ties and four lead changes.  Kevin Motallebi orchestrated a more fluid offense, totaling several of his 23 assists in this frame. Malana and Dragan combined for key kills that pushed the score to a 17-17 tie. The Vikings continued to showcased their prowess from the service line, racking up four aces in the set—including two from Walker. Despite the push, NCC utilized a late 3-0 run to take the set 25-21.

The final frame was a back-and-forth thriller that saw North Park ahead early at 11-4. Libero Zachary Hayden was a vacuum on the back line, recording a match-high and new career-high 14 digs to keep rallies alive. Giovanni Serafini and Adebayo stood tall at the net, each recording blocks to frustrate the Cardinal hitters. NPU fought off two match points following a Motallebi ace and a Cardinal service error to bring the score to 23-24. However, NCC's Chris Mactal delivered the final kill to seal the match for the Cardinals.

The Vikings stay on the road on Saturday, March 7th when they take on the Illinois Wesleyan Titans, a team receiving votes in the national poll rankings.