Box Score
The Carthage College women’s volleyball team (31-5), ranked eighth in the Nov. 3 American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll and second in the Nov. 4 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional poll, won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Women's Volleyball Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 7 with a 3-0 sweep over No. 28 North Central College (34-4) at Carthage’s Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. The Lady Reds’ winning set scores over the Cardinals were 25-15, 25-14 and 25-12.
Carthage advanced to the championship match on Friday, Nov. 6 with a 3-0 sweep of Elmhurst College (17-17). The Lady Reds’ winning set scores over the Bluejays were 25-13, 25-19 and 25-21. No. 28 North Central College (34-3, ranked fourth in the region) defeated Millikin University (19-20), 3-1, in Friday's first semifinal match. The Cardinals’ winning set scores over the Big Blue were 25-23, 20-25, 26-24 and 25-21.
In the Carthage win over North Central, Rachel Swoboda (Jr., De Pere, Wis./Wrightstown) paced the Lady Reds with 13 kills, a .542 attack percentage and four block assists. Michelle Madeja (So., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) had 10 kills and hit .231 with four block assists, while Amanda Matusky (Sr., Hickory Hills, Ill./Palos Hills-Stagg) collected seven block assists. Drewann Pancratz (So., Schaumburg, Ill.) had 27 assists, and Katie Lundgren (Sr., Long Grove, Ill./Lincolnshire-Stevenson) had 21 digs. Swoboda was named the tournament MVP. Joining her on the all-tournament team were Lundgren, Millikin’s Kelsy England, Caitlin O’Hare from Elmhurst, and both Stephanie Ryding and Christy Hermann from North Central.
With Saturday’s victory, Carthage secured the league’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship. The Lady Reds will be making their fifth-consecutive appearance in the championship. After bowing out in the quarterfinals in both 2005 and 2006, both the 2007 and 2008 squads reached the regional-championship match. The 2007 team lost to Washington University (Mo.), 3-1, at the Carthage Physical Education Center, and last year’s team fell to Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 3-2, at the Kolf Sports Center in Oshkosh, Wis.
Wisconsin-Oshkosh has been awarded a regional site for the tournament, which gets underway on Thursday, Nov. 12 with four quarterfinal matches. Washington University (Mo.) in St. Louis, Mo., and Hope College in Holland, Mich., have also been awarded regional sites. The NCAA will announce the 62-team field on Monday, Nov. 9 at 10 a.m., CST.