Minneapolis, MN -- The North Central University (NCU) volleyball team took to the court at Clark Danielson Gymnasium for a mid-week non-conference contest with Hamline University (HU). The last time these two teams met was back in 2021, with the Pipers walking away victorious. Tonight, the Rams battled through and through, but it would ultimately end in the same result as the Pipers won 3-1.
NCU came out ready to play as they found themselves up 8-3 early. Eventually, the Pipers caught fire and went on an 8-0 run to go up 13-10. In the middle of the set, North Central went on a run of their own to regain the lead at 15-14. However, Hamline closed out the set strong to take set one by a final score of 25-18. Senior middle hitter, Hailey Lerfald, led the Rams with 4 kills.
Once again, North Central took an early lead with the score 5-1. Unfortunately, they would forfeit their lead to the Pipers in the middle of the set HU got their outside hitters rolling. Trailing at 17-15, Hamline started to make some crucial attacking errors and NCU freshman Erica Tormanen recorded three kills for three Rams points to give her team the lead. NCU took set two by a score of 25-20.
The battle continued as the teams found themselves tied at 11-11. At that point, the Pipers scored six straight points to take a commanding lead. Although the Rams received a few big kills from freshman Ari Klein and junior Lexie Semrau, it would not be enough as the Pipers won set three 25-19.
North Central found themselves trailing early after a slow start. However, the Rams continued to battle and eventually regained the lead at 14-13. NCU's middle hitters started to feast as Hailey Lerfald and Lexie Semrau tallied 7 combined kills in the final set. On the night, Lerfald (5) and Sydney Carlson (4) combined for 9 blocks as well. However, the Rams fell short as Hamline took set four 25-20 in yet another battle. HU won the game 3-1.
Looking Ahead:
Up next, volleyball will head to Ankeny, Iowa this Friday for the Faith Baptist Invite hosted by Faith Baptist Bible College. First, the Rams will take on Randall University at 12:00 PM followed by Trinity Bible College at 6:00 PM.
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.
