WAUKESHA, Wis. - Cassidy Mrotek's killer instinct took over.
Mrotek, a 5-foot-7 junior outside hitter from Manitowoc, Wis., contributed a team-high 12 kills, 11 digs and two service aces as the Carroll University women's volleyball team defeated North Central College 21-25, 25-11, 25-20, 25-15 in a College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin dual meet at Van Male Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon.
It was the eighth four-set victory of the season for Carroll, which improved to 3-1 in the highly contested conference standings and 15-6 overall.
Leading 17-13 in the tension-filled final set, Carroll maintained its composure and responded with a match-clinching 8-2 run. 
"Coming off a frustrating loss Friday (referring to being swept by strong CCIW intra-state rival Carthage), it was a good feeling to be able to come back home, play up to our potential and get another conference win," said a smiling Mrotek, who recently earned CCIW Defensive Player of the Week honors and had four kills with an ace in the final set. "During the the fourth set, we were all having fun out there, working hard on every point and enjoying the moment. With everyone being on the same page, we just continued to play our game, competed with confidence and that's when everything clicked."
Sophomore outside hitter Sam Penzkowski (Racine, Wis.) followed with 10 kills, five digs, two aces and an assist for the Pioneers, who generated 15 kills with a .379 hitting percentage and committed only four errors in the decisive fourth set.
"We all love playing with one another and really fed off of that energy," said the 5-foot-8 Penzkowski, who delivered a strong right-handed spike from the left side to extend the lead to 24-15 in the final set and help put an exclamation point on the victory. "Even though we started a little slow, we were able to work through it and stepped up our intensity through the second, third and fourth sets. That's when we knew we had an edge and just attempted to finish it out on a strong note."
Senior middle blocker Karley Wolf (Roselle, Ill.) and junior middle blocker Erika Dunnam (Shawano, Wis.) each had nine kills with sophomore middle blocker Rachel Noonan (Crystal Lake, Ill.) collecting six kills and five block assists for Carroll, which overcame an early one-set deficit and improved to 5-1 on its home court this season. Senior defensive specialist Amanda Hahn (Itasca, Ill.) chipped in 20 digs, junior setter Jennilyn Joy Cave (Bolingbrook, Ill.) had 17 assists and sophomore setter Emma Przeslicke (Evergreen Park, Ill.) added 20 assists.
"With playing two, challenging back-to-back conference matches, it was important to be able to bounce back from a loss, show our resilience and come away with another convincing victory," said Carroll head coach Becca Saal, who noted her team's strong serving as being a catalyst in the comeback. "Our confidence was a little low during the first set but that's when we just focused on each point, worked on putting the ball in good positions and followed it up by finishing the plays. When we continued with that approach, it made a difference.
"Looking back, it was very exciting to get a third conference victory. Now we just want to continue to use the same balanced attack, play good defense and keep it rolling. We're really looking forward to what the rest of the season holds."
Freshman outside hitter Kaitlyn Boelter-Eberhardt had a meet-high 17 kills, nine digs, two block assists and two aces for North Central, which dropped to 0-3 in conference and 2-14 overall.