The Carthage women's volleyball team (34-3, 7-0 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin), ranked 14th in the Nov. 4 American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll, defeated No. 23 Millikin University (30-9), 3-2, in the CCIW Women's Volleyball Tournament title match on Saturday, Nov. 8, at the Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. The Lady Red's winning set scores over the Big Blue were, 25-18, 25-19, 21-25, 24-26 and 15-6.
 
Carthage got by No. 17 Elmhurst College (30-8), 3-2, on Friday, Nov. 7 in the semifinals.  The top-seeded Lady Reds' winning set scores over the fourth-seeded Bluejays were 25-17, 25-16, 23-25, 22-25 and 15-9.  Second-seeded and No. 23 Millikin University (30-8) outlasted third-seeded Wheaton College (Ill., 12-21), 3-2, in Friday's first a semifinal match.  The Big Blue's winning set scores over the Thunder were 25-6, 19-25, 25-19, 19-25 and 20-18. 
 
In the title match, Carthage got off to a slow start, trailing Millikin for the first half of the set before finally tying it up at 15-15, with a kill by Stefanie Romanowski (So., Kenosha, Wis./Bradford). The Lady Reds then gained their momentum and took a four-point lead with another kill by Romanowski to bring the set score to 20-16, and then closing the first set out with a score of 25-18. In the second set, Carthage came out tough and maintained a strong lead over Millikin, opening the set with a 13-8 lead. However, the Big Blue battled back, tying the set up at 19-19. The Lady Reds did not let this effect their intensity and quickly pulled ahead of Millikin, closing out the set, 25-19, with a kill by Romanowski. Carthage took the lead in the third, with three back-to-back kills from Bria Hailey (Jr., Hanover Park, Ill./Schaumburg), Karen Chin (Jr., Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein), and then Emily Heuermann (Jr., Washington, Ill./Washington), to secure a five-point lead over Millikin with a score of 11-6. The Big Blue retaliated back quickly, making up for their deficit and tying the score up at 12-12. Though Carthage kept the set score close, Millikin's energy picked up and they closed out the third with a score of 25-21.
 
The Lady Reds started off the fourth set with an, 8-3, lead over the Big Blue, but Millikin soon stepped up their offense and tied the score up at 10-10. Carthage battled back to regain their lead and pulled ahead, 20-16, with a service ace by Hannah Cahoon (Sr., Watertown, Wis./Watertown). The Big Blue then took a timeout and made up their deficit, retying the score up at 21-21. The energy in the Tarble Arena was at an all-time high, as the Lady Reds continued to stay within one point of Millikin and tied the score up at 24-24, with a kill by Romanowski. However, the Big Blue responded with back-to-back kills to take the fourth set. In the final set of the match, Carthage took the lead early on, opening with three Lady Red kills and a score of, 8-2. Carthage kept their intensity high and controlled the pace of the fifth set, only allowing Millikin to ever come within five points of them. The Lady Reds took the final set and the CCIW title, by closing out the match with a kill by Hailey and a score of 15-6.
 
Heuermann led Carthage to a victory with 12 kills, assisted by teammates Hailey, who had 10 kills, and Rachel Fields (Sr., Chicago, Ill./Oak Park-Fenwick), who had nine, in the title match. Chin collected 39 assists and 22 digs, while teammate Cahoon had 28 digs.  Fields, Chin and Cahoon were named to the all-tournament team.

"Winning the tournament feels awesome," said Carthage coach Leanne Ulmer.  "We had everything under control but lost momentum.  That was a grueling match, and I don't think either team was playing at its best.  At that point, it just becomes a matter of grinding it out and finding the will to win.  It took us awhile, but we found it." (courtesy of the Kenosha News)
 
By winning the CCIW title, the Lady Reds secured the league's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship. The field and regional sites for the will be announced Monday, Nov. 10, during the tournament selection show at 10 a.m., CST on the NCAA website.