MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The North Central University (NCU) volleyball team opened up their season facing off against Carleton College (CC) on their home court. With the tone of the evening set by a spirited crowd, the Rams were energized from start to finish. NCU had a late surge of momentum in the third set, but the Knights overcame the Rams three sets to none (25-13, 25-10, 25-21).

Game Recap

The atmosphere was tense from the first serve. Most of the first set was close with multiple lead changes. The Rams had 25 total attack attempts showing the tremendous effort of the back row to return the ball. In addition, NCU was able to capitalize off CC's service errors. However, the Knights started pulling away in the final points of the set edging out NCU 25-13.

The second set was controlled mainly by the Knights with little surges here and there from the Rams. NCU never gave up despite the score difference, always giving just a little more to throw CC off of their game and make the Knights really work for it. To their credit, the Rams finished the set with no services errors and only had three in the whole match. Although NCU showed relentless effort, Carleton ended up winning this set 25-10.

The Rams came into the third like it was a whole different game. The outcome of the first two set did not get into the heads of any of NCU's players. This team found their rhythm right away and the crowd loved it. It was very much a back and forth set with lots of amazing rallies. NCU's front line had a couple of key blocks throughout the set to swing the momentum back their way. Furthermore, the Rams got into an offensive flow generating another 25 attacks. This energy caused the Knights to take a timeout to collect themselves. Both teams showed terrific commitment, encouragement, and grit in the final stretch of the set. This nail-bitter went to CC with a narrow score of 25-21.

Key Performers 

• Senior Emily DiGiorgio (Ironwood, MI, Luther L. Wright High School) and junior Jaselyn Anderson (Farmington, MN, Christian Life Academy) led the Rams with 4 kills a piece. DiGiorgio had an excellent hitting percent of .429 on the night. 
• In her freshman debut, Grace Brigson had ten assists and two digs. 
• Libero Hannah Fischer (Kenyon, MN, Kenyon Wanamingo High School) had 6 total digs which were monumental in the third set to keep the Rams alive. She also had three service aces.

Looking Ahead

NCU volleyball has only a few days to rest as they are back in action for the NCU Triangular this coming Saturday. The Rams will play Trinity Bible College at 1 pm followed by a game with Oak Hills Christian College at 5 pm.  All fans are encouraged to follow official Rams Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages for news about NCU volleyball and other important information.