The Carthage College women's volleyball team (29-6, 7-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 11th in the Nov. 1 American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll and first in the Nov. 3 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional poll, defeated Wheaton College (Ill., 22-13, 4-3 CCIW), 3-1, on Friday night, Nov. 4 in the semifinals of the CCIW Women's Volleyball Tournament at Carthage's Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. The Lady Reds' winning set scores over the Thunder were 25-11, 25-17, 18-25 and 25-20.
No. 17 Elmhurst College (30-4) outlasted Millikin University (26-11), 3-2, in the earlier semifinal contest. The Bluejays' winning scores were 20-25, 25-18, 26-24, 20-25 and 15-6. Carthage will take on Elmhurst in the tournament-championship match on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 2 p.m., with the winner claiming the league's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship.
Carthage jumped out to a quick, 11-2 lead in the first set, en route to a 25-11 decision. The Lady Reds led the second set by just three, 18-15, before winning seven of the last nine points for a 25-17 win. The Thunder owned the third set, opening up a nine-point lead, 19-10. Carthage closed to within six, 24-18, before Wheaton took the final point for a 25-18 decision. The fourth-and-final match stayed close, with the Lady Reds hanging on for a five-point win, 25-20.
Carthage's
Michelle Madeja (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) collected a match-high 19 kills and hit .311.
Cindy Cavanagh (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Aurora-Waubonsie Valley) had 13 kills with a .571 attack percentage, while
Lauren Dembkowski (Sr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey) chipped in 12 kills with a .303 attack percentage. Setter
Drewann Pancratz (Sr., Schaumburg, Ill.) averaged 10.75 assists per set.
In the Elmhurst-Millikin match, the Bluejays' Antoney Veasy Smith collected 20 kills and hit .320. Megan Reynolds had 14 kills with a .387 attack percentage and five blocks, while Kaitlyn Wilks added 12 kills with a .370 attack percentage. Kelsy England topped Millikin with a match-high 24 kills.
