North Central College tops Macalester College, 3-0
North Central (IL) swept Macalester 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-21) on Friday, September 19 at the Lillis Athletic and Wellness Center in Dubuque, Iowa, moving to 4-4 on the season while dropping Macalester to 5-7.
The clearest separator was efficiency: North Central hit .242 as a team compared to Macalester's .147, a gap that widened considerably in Set 2 when the Cardinals hit .333 against the Scots' .086. North Central also held a significant edge in aces, 8-4, including six combined from three different servers. Kills were nearly even at 39-38, making the service and efficiency advantages the deciding factors across the match.
Abby Buban led all players with 15 kills, adding 9 digs and 2 aces for North Central. Lauren Benson contributed 10 kills on a .450 hitting percentage, 3 blocks, and 2 aces, while setter Sarah Harvey distributed 31 assists and chipped in 9 digs. For Macalester, Channing Smith posted a team-high 9 kills to go with 7 digs and 2 aces, and libero Morgan Stone anchored the back row with 11 digs.
Set 1 featured a late North Central surge — the Cardinals rattled off six unanswered points to erase a 14-19 deficit and pull even at 19-19 before closing out 25-23.
The win moves North Central to 4-4 overall as the program opens CCIW play ahead.
