DECATUR, Ill. – Coming off of a six-game win streak, the Carthage College women's volleyball team (30-7, 5-2 CCIW), ranked No. 13 in the Nov. 3 AVCA Top 25 Poll and No. 2 in the NCAA Midwest Region rankings, traveled to Millikin University to take on Illinois Wesleyan University (22-9, 5-2 CCIW) in the semifinal match of the 2015 CCIW Volleyball Tournament.
 
The score started tight in the first set until the Lady Reds were able to create a four-point run to take the lead 10-6. The Lady Reds would remain control for the entirety game and win the set 25-20.  
 
Carthage would score the first two points two points of the second set on a Titan's attack error and a kill by Carthage's Emily Heuermann. Illinois Wesleyan would respond with a block by Kyleigh Block to make the score 2-1 in favor of Carthage. The Lady Reds would then complete a three-point run on two errors by IWU and a kill by Stefanie Romanowski to take the lead 5-1. Carthage would create another three-point run towards the middle of the set to increase their lead to 16-8. The Lady Reds would hold on to the lead and win 25-19, expanding their lead to 2-0.
 
Carthage would take a 4-0 lead over the Titans to start the third set.  A few points later, the Lady Reds would complete a four-point run to increase their lead to 11-6. Illinois Wesleyan would take their first lead with the score at 21-19. The Lady Reds would then score three points to take the lead again at 22-21. The Titans would take the lead once again on kills by Anne Cummings and Rachel Burkman to take the lead 23-22. A kill by Bria Hailey and an attack error by the Titans would once again give the Lady Reds the lead at 24-23. The Titan's Burkman would tie the game at 24-24 with a kill, but that would be the final point of the match for Illinois Wesleyan. A kill by Stefanie Romanowski and an attack error by Burkman would earn Carthage the 26-24 win, securing their 3-0 sweep over Illinois Wesleyan (25-20, 25-29, 26-24) and a spot in the 2015 CCIW Volleyball Tournament Championship match.
 
As a team, the Lady Reds made 41 kills, three aces, five blocks, 31 assists, 46 digs and hit .202. In comparison, the Titans made 40 kills, one ace, four blocks, 38 assists, 46 digs and hit .151.
 
Emily Heuermann led the Lady Reds in kills with 15 along with Jaime Dickinson and Stefanie Romanowski who each had eight, respectively. Blaire Barnett, Jaime Dickinson and Karen Chin each recorded once ace in the match. Romanowski completed four blocks, along with Stephanie Korbakes with two and Emily Heuermann with one. Karen Chin recorded 27 assists in the three-set match. Luci Krenzke made 15 digs, accompanied by Chin with 8 and Barnett with 7.
 
Carthage will face Elmhurst in the CCIW Volleyball Tournament championship match on Saturday at 2 p.m. Elmhurst defeated Millikin 3-1 on Friday to earn their spot in the championship match. The winner of the championship will earn the CCIW's automatic bid into the 2015 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championships.