Minneapolis, Minn.-- The North Central University Volleyball Team played a pair of games Thursday evening against the Faith Baptist Bible College Eagles and the Providence University College Pilots.

The Rams (2-6) kicked off the NCU Invite with a bang by taking down their NCCAA Region rival, as they defeated the Eagles (Ankeny, Iowa) by a score of 3-1 (25-22, 25-21, 25-20, 20-25).

NCU over-powered the Eagles from the start, as the Rams recorded positive hitting percentages in all four sets. North Central had 59 total kills in the contest while Faith Baptist (3-5) were only able to record 32 kills.

The Rams had plenty of offensive production from numerous front-line hitters. Junior Karlee Huber (Rapid City, S.D./Dakota Wesleyan Univ.) led the way with a game-high 19 kills in the match to go along with five service aces and a team-high 14 digs. 

Senior Karlee Cox (Des Moines, Iowa/Saydel) and sophomore Ashley Kelzer (Mayer, Minn./Watertown-Mayer) recorded 14 kills each in the match. And junior Katie Strand (Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo) finished with 11 kills of her own in the victory.

Setter Elissa Pheneger (Roseville, Minn/Concordia Academy) continued her brilliant junior campaign with a season-high 52 assists in the contest. Her ability to distribute the ball throughout her front-line proved to be the difference for North Central.

The highlight of the match for NCU came in set number two as the Rams were trailing 9-15; then after a kill by Huber, she served ten consecutive points to lead North Central on an 11-0 run before winning the set 25-21.

In match number two, the Rams faced off against another NCCAA Region rival as they lost to the Providence Pilots (Manitoba, Canada), 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 18-25, 20-25).

North Central (2-7) was once again led offensively from Huber, as she recorded a team-high ten kills in the loss. Cox had another solid effort as she was able to finish nine kills of her own.

NCU was given a strong defensive effort from senior captain Whitney Reames (Vassar, Mich./Vassar) as she posted a season-high 18 digs in the contest.

The heoric effort defensively from Reames was not enough to overcome the balanced attack from the Pilots (4-1). After North Central was able to win set two in dramatic fashion, the Pilots responded with their best two sets of the night as they recorded a hitting percentage of .297 over the final two sets.

NCU continues play this Saturday as they host the Trinity Bible College Lions (Ellendale, N.D.) at 10 a.m. and then take on the Emmaus Bible College Eagles (Dubuque, Iowa) at 6 p.m. as part of the NCU Invite in Minneapolis, Minn.