NORTHFIELD, Minn. – In front of a raucous student crowd at West Gym, the Carleton volleyball team opened its home portion of the schedule with a 3-0 sweep over North Central University (Minn.).  The Knights controlled from start to finish on the way to their seventh win of the young season, already attaining their season win total from a year ago.
 
"I could not be more proud," said head coach Abby Walton following Wednesday night's win.  "They followed our plan to a tee.  The biggest thing for us is serving and passing.  We feel if we win the serve and pass game, we give ourselves the best chance to win. 
 
Carleton served its way to an early lead in the first set, rattling off four straight points including a pair of service aces from sophomore Megan Smith.  The Knights still led 9-6 midway through the frame when junior Sylvia Dixon stepped to the line to serve.  It proved to be the turning point in the opening set as the Maize and Blue scored nine straight points, including three aces from Dixon to open up an 18-6 lead. 
 
The streak opened the door for another run of six straight points later in the set as part of a 16-2 run to finish off the lid-lifter with a score of 25-8.  The Knights racked up eight aces and hit a blistering .438 as a team in the opening set, which set the tone for the remainder of the match.
 
In the second set, Carleton jumped out to a quick 9-3 lead.  Four different players registered a kill in the run to grab the early advantage, which grew to 22-7 following a 12-1 run later in the frame.  Back-to-back aces from sophomore Jennifer Bricker and a pair of kills from fellow sophomore Karin Grevstad-Nordbrock capped off the run, which all but put the set out of reach.  Carleton went on to finish the set 25-10 and open up a commanding two-set lead.
 
It was more of the same in the third for the Maize and Blue.  The Knights used six unanswered points to open up a 13-4 advantage in the early going.  Three straight aces from junior Isabel Macia highlighted the run.  The spurt was a part of a larger 14-2 run that gave the home team an 18-5 lead.  That lead grew to 22-7 with another four-point spurt before the Rams answered with a run of their own.  In its best stretch of the night, North Central rattled off seven straight points, but the deficit proved to be too much as the Knights took the final set 25-16 and capped off the sweep.
 
Carleton hit a season-high .358 with 38 kills and just nine errors on 81 attempts for the night.  The Knights also tied a season-high with 15 aces in the three-set sprint.  Senior Kerrigan Candra posted 11 kills and five digs, while Sylvia Dixon put up eight kills, four aces, and three blocks.  Junior Isabel Macia racked up 16 assists with four aces and Megan Smith recorded 13 assists with six digs.  First-year Madeleine Dimitre tallied a team-high 12 digs. 
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will head to St. Paul on Friday evening to take on the University of Minnesota, Morris in the Macalester Invitational.  Friday night's match is set to start at 6pm and will be followed by a pair of matches on Saturday against the University of Wisconsin-Superior at 1pm and Grinnell College at 3pm.