NAPERVILLE, Calif. — Ben Weber had the final three kills in the fifth set and No. 3 Cal Lutheran men's volleyball defeated No. 9 North Central Cardinals 3-2 on Friday night. Scores of the match were 18-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-16, 15-12.

It was the Kingsmen's first five-set match of the year as they delivered in the clutch. They improved to 7-1 and defeated their sixth-ranked opponent. They have defeated every ranked opponent they have played.

Michael Stahl and Jordan Cooper led the offense with 21 and 16 kills, respectively. Stahl hit with an impressive .442 and Cooper had a clip of .303. Weber made it three Kingsmen with double-digit kills and had 12. 

Taylor Marks recorded a double-double and kept the offense going with 50 assists and 10 digs. He added five kills and four total blocks. Stahl and Weber joined Marks with a double-double. Weber had 13 digs and Stahl had 10 more. 

The score went back and forth the entire time. The Cardinals won the first set and the Kingsmen answered back in the second. The trend continued as the Cardinals won the third with the Kingsmen taking the fourth. 

The match came down to the fifth and final set. The Cardinals went up early 3-1, but then the score was tied at 4-4. The set was tied seven more times up to 12-12. It was the Kingsmen who came up clutch and had the final say as they scored the final three points. Weber recorded three straight kills and won the game for the Kingsmen. 

The Kingsmen continue their weekend with another ranked opponent. They are at No. 16 Dominican on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT/3 p.m. PT.