Minneapolis, MN -- Friday, the North Central University (NCU) volleyball team would host the Emmaus Bible College (EBC) Eagles for their 2024 home opener. This would be both team's first match of the season as they enter the 2024 slate. After a tightly contested 27-25 set-one victory for NCU, the Rams would settle in and cruise to a 3-0 win over the Eagles. Outside hitter, Sydney Carlson led the Rams with 12 kills and 12 digs on the night, while senior setter Grace Brigson orchestrated the Rams offensive attack with 34 total assists.
In set one, the teams would go back and forth as they battled it out early. North Central committed 9 total errors in the first set, allowing Emmaus to keep within striking distance. The Rams eventually found themselves facing match point at 25-24, when hitters Jada Lee, Erica Tormanen, and Lexie Semrau recorded 3 straight kills to save set one and go up 1-0 in the game.
In set two, North Central came out firing on all cylinders with 3 straight kills and a service ace from Maci Tripp. After giving up one point to the Eagles, the Rams went on a 12-0 run off the stellar serving of Jada Lee. The senior captain recorded 2 service aces and an assist in this stretch. NCU cleaned up their play from set one as they recorded just 2 errors, 13 kills, and had a team hitting percentage of .355. The Rams took set two by a final score of 25-6.
After winning back-to-back sets, NCU had all the momentum they needed as they were able to find an early lead once again. The Rams would jump out in front with a score of 5-0 after two kills from newcomer Nana Lopez. Freshman Ari Klein would heat up in the final set, tallying 4 kills in the final set. Sydney Carlson and Lexi Semrau commanded the net for North Central, recording a total of 18 kills and an average hitting percentage of .438. The Rams easily took set three to complete the shutout over Emmaus Bible College.
Today's box score can be found here.
Looking Ahead:
The Rams return to Clark Danielson Gym for an 11:00am game versus Kuyper College (MI). They will follow that up with a second match, this time going on the road to compete in their first Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) contest of the season against Crown College at 3:00pm.
All fans are encouraged to tune into the official Rams Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter (X) pages for updates on Rams Volleyball and all things NCU Athletics.
