The Aurora University men's volleyball team returned to the court to take on No. 6 North Central College on Tuesday night. The Spartans battled and won an exciting five set match 3-2.


MATCH ONE: #rv Aurora University 3, #6 North Central College 2 (25-23, 16-25, 17-25, 25-21, 15-10)
LOCATION: Lancaster Court in Thornton Gymnasium
RECORDS: Aurora University 1-1


- A service ace by Austin Bayner early in the opening set vaulted the Spartans to a 4-0 run and a lead they would not relinquish.
- Midway through the set, Matthew Nelson knocked down a kill and followed with an ace to give AU a 16-10 lead.
- The set would be tied 22-22 and 23-23 before a pair of attack errors by NCC gave AU the 25-23 win.
- Nelson led the way with five kills in the opening set.
- AU fell behind early in the second set and would fall 25-16.
- The third set was a mirror image of the second with the Spartans falling 25-17 and trailing the match 2-1.
- In the fourth set, the intensity turned up with both teams going back and forth with each other.
- Down two at 19-17, the Spartans out scored NCC 8-2 in the final 10 points to win 25-21 and force a winner take all fifth set.
- A Nathan Anderson service ace gave AU a 21-20 lead, the final lead change of the contest.
- Bayner bounced home the final point for the win.
- John McCormack had six kills in the set to lead the way while AU hit .517 as a team.
- The fifth set was all the Thornton Gymnasium crowd could ask for, excitement on the court throughout.
- The lead changed hands three times and was tied six times with the scoring hitting 8-8.
- A block from Martin McKee and James Karwin for a 9-8 AU lead was followed up by a slam from Karwin to give the Spartans a 10-8 lead and force a Cardinal timeout.
- The AU block party continued a few points later with McCormack and Karwin teaming up and giving AU a 12-9 advantage.
- McCormack continued his strong late match play with two kills including the set and match winner.
- AU won the fifth 15-10 and the match 3-2.


Kills: John McCormack (13), Matthew Nelson and Adam Gebala (10)
Assists: James Karwin (35)
Blocks: Martin McKee (5) and John McCormack (4)
Digs: Alex Nonhoff (13) and James Karwin (11)


Next action for the Spartan men's volleyball team comes on Friday, January 27 when they travel to Wittenberg University. Opening serve is slated for 6:00 p.m. (est) / 5:00 p.m. (cst) in Springfield, Ohio.