NAPERVILLE, Ill.— North Central rolled to consecutive 25-14 wins in the first two sets Saturday and went on to defeat Augustana 3-1 at Gregory Arena. The Vikings fell to 11-9 on the season and 3-2 in the CCIW, while the Cardinals improved to 11-6 overall and 4-1 in the league.
 
Sophomore Luis Zavala (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) had two kills as Augustana took a 6-5 lead in set one, but Ben Williams had three straight to spark a 9-1 run that put North Central on top 14-7. The Vikings would get no closer than six points the rest of the way and set point came on a Jason Eslinger kill.
 
The Cardinals took control quickly in game two, winning the first five points. After the lead reached 18-7, Coach Mike Ducey's club went on a 4-0 run, but a Jared Moser kill turned the tide back in North Central's favor and the Cardinals closed things out with a block by Michael Trunzo and Justin Curtis.
 
Junior Justin Murphy (Glenbard East HS, Lombard, Ill.) opened game three with consecutive kills and Augustana would lead wire-to-wire in a 25-18 win. Murphy's seventh kill of the set gave the Vikings a 19-13 advantage and Jason Szara's (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) fifth made it 21-14. Set point came on a kill by Zavala.
 
Moser had a pair of kills as the Cardinals jumped on top 6-1 in game four. Augustana chipped away, eventually pulling to within 23-21 on a Murphy kill. However, three straight service errors resulted in a 25-22 North Central victory.
 
Murphy and Szara each had 14 kills to lead the Vikings. Junior Ryan Hirschel (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.) had a season-high 39 assists. Brett Kliegl (Neuqua Valley HS, Bolingbrook, Ill.) had a team-high 12 digs.
 
Moser, Trunzo and Curtis had respective match-bests of 18 kills, 44 assists and six blocks for the Cardinals.
 
Augustana hosts Greenville in a CCIW contest at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11.