ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Augustana won for the seventh time in its last eight matches Saturday, defeating North Park 3-0 at Carver Center, Coach Mike Ducey's squad improved to 8-4 overall and 7-2 in the CCIW, while NPU dropped to 7-6 overall and 4-5 in the conference.
 
Justin Murphy (Glenbard East HS, Lombard, Ill.), Jarod Hesse (Grayslake North HS, Lake Villa, Ill.) and Gary Dodovich (St. Benedict HS, Chicago, Ill.) each had a pair of kills as the hosts jumped on top 10-5 in set one. NPU would get no closer than four points the rest of the way, as Augustana won 25-15, getting set point on a kill by Hesse.
 
Game two was close the entire way. Consecutive Erik Bullard kills gave North Park a 14-11 edge, but Ducey's bunch came back to forge a 21-20 lead when Benjamin Schultz (Sunset HS, Portland, Ore.) and Murphy combined on a block. Set point in a 25-23 Augustana win came on another Hesse kill.
 
Game three was another tight one. Augustana's first three-point lead came at 13-10 after a Dodovich kill. NPU pulled even at 17-all on a Emmanual Eugene kill, but Murphy countered with two in a row to give Augustana a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Trailing 24-20, North Park fought off two match points before a Dodovich kill closed things out.
 
Hesse, Dodovich and Murphy each delivered a match-best 13 kills, while Hesse and Murphy chipped in with seven digs apiece. Sanchit Khaitan (Glenbard North HS, Bloomingdale, Ill.) recorded 40 assists. Brett Kliegl's 11 digs were a match best and Schultz was in on a match-high five blocks.
 
Armando Quinones led North Park with 11 kills.
 
Ducey's crew will try to continue its winning ways when it visits Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington, Illinois on Wednesday, March 24 at 7:00 p.m.