CHICAGO - The Banana Slugs continued their ninegame trip to chicago in a face off against the highly talented North Park. The Slugs began the game with Ian Pizzuti, Xander Vriesman, Cinjun Coe, Zachary Thompson, Trevor Jackson, Mohan Duvvuri, and libero Max Mednick. 

UCSC had a slower start than they are used to with NPU taking a 5-0 lead. As the set progressed, two NPU errors and kills from Thompson, Pizzuti, and Coe put the Slugs back in the game. Halfway through the set, the teams were trading off points, and three straight from Pizzuti got the Banana Slugs their first tie of the game 16-16. A short run from NPU put the Vikings up 22-25 to secure a win in the first set. 

After a set to warm up, the Slugs had a stronger start in set 2. The point differential between the teams never was more than 2 points for the first 10. The Banana Slugs chipped away at the lead in between NPU's two 4-point runs. After a tough battle though, the Slugs fell short 16-25 , but they were not ready to throw in the towel. 

In hopes of turning the game around in the third set, UCSC inserted Senior Sam Wittert into the lineup, and took their largest lead spurred by freshman Ethan Makishima (10-5). Although North Park was able to score a few points, they had no answers for the Slugs front line with the Banana Slugs keeping their lead over North Park for the remainder of the set. With a 6-2 final run, UCSC finished the third set with their first win (25-14). 

The fourth set was the most exhilarating, with an early 5-point run from NPU followed by five close lead changes in the progression of the game. Each time North Park was able to take the lead, the Slugs fought back and changed the tides. When it came down to the wire at the end of the set the Slugs were unable to hold their lead and NPU secured the set at 29-27. 

Aaron Fox had 11 kills to lead UC Santa Cruz. Colby Hurdle had 9, Coe had 8 and Makishma added 6. Wittert finished with the strongest in the assists category with 28, while Mednick contributed the most digs with 22. 

Although the Slugs fell short in their game, their overall success in Chicago jumpstarted their season with an impressive 7-1 record leading into their April games. The Slugs next matchup against Aurora will set them up to have a possible run at the NCAA tournament in mid-April, location to be determined.