The Carthage College women's volleyball team (30-5), 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, advanced to the championship match of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Women's Volleyball Tournament on Friday, Nov. 6 with a 3-0 sweep of Elmhurst College (17-17) at Carthage's Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. 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. Carthage will take on North Central in the tournament-championship match at 2 p.m. on Saturday, with the winner receiving the league's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship.
In the first set of the Carthage-Elmhurst match, Carthage broke open an 8-5 contest with a 9-1 run to take a 17-6 lead. The Lady Reds went on to win that set by 12 points, 25-13. Carthage jumped out to 7-0 lead in the second set. Elmhurst closed to within two, 12-10, and trailed by only three, 17-14, but the Lady Reds inched away to win by six points, 25-19. Set three was very close. Carthage led by no more than three in the early going, and Elmhurst tied the match, 9-9. The Lady Reds ran off five-straight points to take a 14-9 lead. The Bluejays came back to close to within two, 16-14, 17-15, and again at 20-18, before Carthage won five of the last eight points for a 25-21 decision. Rachel Swoboda (Jr., De Pere, Wis./Wrightstown) paced the Lady Reds with 12 kills, .417 attack percentage and block assists, while Michelle Madeja (So., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) had 10 kills and hit .272 with 15 digs. Setter Drewann Pancratz collected 28 assists.
