MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Back on their home floor for the sixth time this season, North Cental University (NCU) volleyball hosted the 2-4 Bethany Lutheran College (BLC) Vikings on Thursday night. Despite managing to secure the first and fourth sets of the night, the Rams fell to the Vikings in what would turn out to be a heartbreaking fight to the finish for the blue and gold (25-18, 19-25, 16-25, 25-22, and 11-15).
Game Recap
North Central came out with a vengeance from the opening service, going on a string of several runs that fueled the Rams to take a commanding lead of 10 to five early on.
Emily DiGiorgio (Ironwood, MI, Luther L. Wright High School) got the offense going, posting two kills in the first 8 rallies of the set in addition to multiple block assists. The Rams virtually paced the Vikings in all stat categories during the first set, including kills (11 to 10), service aces (3 to 2), and total blocks (4 to 1).
After a slow start for the Vikings in the first set, they managed to come out in set two by taking control of the lead and never giving it up the entire way. Even though Bethany Lutheran started out strong, the Rams followed closely behind the entire way, never allowing the Vikings to build their lead more than seven points. NCU put together a late three-point surge that narrowed the BLC lead to three, but the last few points ended up in favor of Vikings. This allowed them to take set two 19 to 25.
The momentum continued for the Vikings into the third set, as North Central fell 16 to 25. After trailing only by one through the first half of the set, Bethany Luthern put together two four-point strings off North Central errors that got them out in front 14 to eight. The Rams attempted to get back into the set late by back-to-back
Makayla Krohnberg (Blaine, MN, Blaine High School) kills, but BLC responded well and kept their lead down the stretch.
With their back against the wall, NCU scratched their way to securing the fourth set of the night 25 to 22, forcing an overtime fifth and final set. An eight-point surge via multiple Bethany Lutheran errors gave the blue and gold a 13 to 5 lead, which was enough to secure a path to victory even with the Vikings slowly narrowing the gap throughout. With the score at 24 to 17 in favor of the Rams, BLC clawed their way to within two points, but an attack error gave the Rams the final point they needed.
The Rams then found themselves in an overtime fifth set for the second night in a row. The Vikings opened strong with three straight kills, but the Rams showed resilience and kept themselves within striking distance throughout.
DiGiorgio came alive again late in the set with critical attacks for the offense. In the final few rallies of the match, the Vikings put together a couple service aces that allowed them to come away with the five-set victory 15 to 11.
Key Performers
- Emily DiGiorgio finished the night with 16 kills and four block assists, paving the way for what would be one of NCU's performances in both facets of the game.
- The dynamic setting duo of Alannah Easter and Karlee Martinez (Woodbury, MN, St. Croix Central High School) were instrumental in the Rams' offensive attack. Easter tallied 24 assists while true freshman Martinez put up 20.
- Jaselyn Anderson (Farmington, MN, Christian Life Academy) had a career night for North Central at the net, recording 7 total block assists against the Vikings' attackers.
Looking Ahead
Rams volleyball will be in search of their first conference victory next time around on Saturday afternoon, when they take on the Crown College (CC) Storm and Macalester College (MC) Scots in double-header fashion. First service with Crown is slated for 3:00p.m., while the non-conference matchup against the Scots will cap the night off with a 6:00p.m. start. Due to institutional COVID-19 protocols, a predetermined group of fans will be allowed entrance to contest Saturday afternoon in Clark-Danielson Gymnasium. Those not on the selected player and coach list are encouraged to tune into the upcoming action at
ncurams.com/watch.
