The Aurora University men's volleyball team continued their home stand on Thursday night when they hit the court for another non-conference match, this time against the Cardinals of North Central College. The #15 ranked Spartans would see their six-game winning streak to begin the year come to an end in a four set loss to the Cardinals.


MATCH SCORE: North Central College 3, #15 Aurora University 1 (20-25, 26-24, 21-25, 23-25)
LOCATION: Thornton Gymnasium - Aurora, Illinois
RECORDS: #15 Aurora University 6-1 overall; North Central College 4-3 overall


- AU fell behind early 5-1 in the first set, but a couple of kills from Josh McLellan helped the Spartans get right back into it trailing 6-5.
- Another kill from McLellan would tie the score at 12 about halfway through the opening frame.
- The Spartans would eventually fall by a score of 25-20 in the first set. 
- Despite the opening set loss, McLellan finished with seven kills for AU.
- Each team went back-and-forth to begin another close set, as the Spartans held a 12-10 lead about halfway through the frame.
- Mateo Scharosch hammered home two kills later in the set to give AU a 20-19 lead.
- With the score tied at 24, a kill from Sebastian Ciszewski and ace from McLellan gave the Spartans the 26-24 set victory.
- AU finished with a .348 hitting percentage in the second frame with 13 team kills.
- Similar to the second set, AU saw a 12-10 lead following a Ciszewski kill.
- The Spartans would end up falling in the third set by a score of 25-21.
- Ciszewski continued his success into the fourth set, as back-to-back kills from the sophomore put AU within four of the Cardinals at 15-11.
- North Central would hold that lead at 24-19, looking like the match was coming to an end, before the Spartans stormed back with four points.
- The Cardinals would notch the next point for the 25-23 set victory and 3-1 match win.


Kills: Josh McLellan (17) and Sebastian Ciszewski (8)
Assists: Logan Brouwer (35)
Blocks: Sebastian Ciszewski (5)
Digs: Nathan Kirwan (13), Josh McLellan (12) and Alex Nonhof (10)
Aces: Josh McLellan and Logan Brouwer (1)


Next action for the Spartan men's volleyball team comes on Friday, February 7 when they host Adrian College and Edgewood College. First serve is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. in Thornton Gymnasium.