NAPERVILLE, Ill. - After going down two sets to none, the Elmhurst University women's volleyball team completed the reverse sweep to come back and defeat North Central in five sets Wednesday evening on the road.

With the win, the Bluejays (16-9, 3-5 CCIW) officially qualify for the 2023 CCIW Tournament beginning next Tuesday evening, where the Bluejays will face off against Carthage in Kenosha, Wis. with a start time to be determined.

After a tight four-point loss in the first set and a ten-point drubbing in the second, the Bluejays looked like they were down for the count heading into the third set. After trailing early in set three, the Bluejays managed to come from behind with a four-point burst to take set three, and again used a late surge to knot the match at two sets a piece with a trip to the conference tournament on the line for both teams.

In the fifth, the Bluejays started hot with three-straight points to open the final set, but the Cardinals responded with a five-point burst to open a 5-3 lead. After trading points, the Cardinals used yet another four-point run to open a 10-6 lead in the fifth. The Bluejays would not go down quietly, however, as the Elmhurst block forced a trio of hitting errors from the Cardinals to tighten the match to just one point.

After a Cardinal kill extended their lead to 11-9, Laicey Kaiser and Keely Larson found the floor for kills to knot the match at 11 a piece. Both teams traded a pair of kills to move the decisive fifth set to a 13-13 stalemate, and the Bluejays rode the hot hand, finding a kill from Kali Phillips and sealing the match on a Kellyn Kennedy service ace, completing the reverse sweep and taking the match, 3-2.

It was a dominant night from the Elmhurst middle hitters, as Larson led all Bluejays with a career-high 16 kills, while her fellow middle Lucy Anderson tallied 11 kills. Aly Reardon provided stellar back row defense for the Bluejays, collecting 18 digs while also putting down eight kills, while Kellyn Kennedy was big on the service line all night with four aces, including the match-clinching ace. 

UP NEXT

The Bluejays will close out the regular season this Friday, Nov. 3, welcoming in Concordia University Chicago for a 7:00 p.m. first serve inside R.A. Faganel Hall. The Bluejays will honor eight seniors prior to the match for Senior Night.

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