Minneapolis, MN -- Friday, North Central University (NCU) Volleyball hosted its annual Minneapolis Invite Tournament here at the Clark Danielson Gymnasium. This year's tournament featured two teams from previous invites; Trinity Bible College (TBC) Lions from Ellendale, North Dakota, and the Faith Baptist Bible College (FBBC) Eagles from Ankeny, Iowa as well as two newcomers to the tournament; the Great Lakes Christian College (GLCC) Crusaders from Lansing, MI and the Free Lutheran Bible College (FLBC) Conquerors from Plymouth, MN. The Rams began their afternoon with a thrilling four-set victory over Trinity Bible, giving first-year Head Coach Jessica Curry her first collegiate win. Later that evening, North Central closed out the day against Faith Baptist in a hard-fought match, ultimately falling in four sets. The Rams now sit at 1-1 overall following day one of the invite.

Game One Recap:

Set 1: 29-27 | Set 2: 26-24 | Set 3: 20-25 | Set 4: 25-20

The Rams opened the tournament with an intense back-and-forth battle in the first set, featuring 11 tie scores and five lead changes. Despite early attacking errors, NCU pulled through with gritty play at the net and excellent back-row coverage. Autumn Kaczmarek led the offensive charge, while Maci Tripp stabilized the defense with strong serve receives and 18 digs.

Set two followed a similar pattern, as North Central again relied on late-set resilience to edge out a win. Setter Tatum Olson delivered 21 assists and added a solo block and service ace. The Rams overcame seven attacking errors to maintain their two-set lead.

Trinity took advantage of NCU's 12 attacking errors in the third frame, handing the Rams their only dropped set of the match. Despite a team-high 11 kills on the day from Kaczmarek, North Central's hitting percentage dipped into the negatives for the set, halting momentum.

North Central rebounded well, closing out the match in set four. Lexie Semrau contributed five kills on a .308 hitting percentage across limited action. Brianna Brown added seven kills and hit an efficient .263 in three sets, while Abby Rhoades chipped in five kills and 12 digs.

Game Two Recap: 

Set 1: 25-16 | Set 2: 22-25 | Set 3: 25-19 | Set 4: 25-17

North Central stormed out in the first set, posting their best offensive performance of the night with a .241 attack percentage and just two errors. Brianna Brown had a dominant start with several timely kills, while Maggie Kohl and Gabbie Ruzek added offensive firepower. The Rams' back row stayed clean with only one reception error.

Faith Baptist bounced back in set two, capitalizing on seven NCU errors. Despite a late push by the Rams, they couldn't overcome the deficit. Olson and Rhoades combined for 27 assists, while Scheffler and Rhoades each notched service aces to keep things close.

Set three saw the Rams struggle to maintain offensive rhythm. NCU hit -.053 in the frame, with 11 errors undoing a balanced attack. Despite continued solid play from Brown and Kaczmarek, the Rams couldn't close the gap as FBBC gained momentum.

North Central showed fight in the final frame but couldn't contain FBBC's surging offense, which hit .286 to close out the match. Despite cleaner hitting from NCU (.143), it wasn't enough to hold off the visiting Eagles. Tripp recorded 19 digs, and Mendoza added eight, anchoring the Rams' defense.

Looking Ahead:

North Central will return to Clark-Danielson Gymnasium for day two of the Minneapolis Invite, opening with a 10:00 AM matchup against Great Lakes Christian College, followed by a 12:00 PM contest with Free Lutheran Bible College.

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