WINONA, Wis. – The Carthage College Lady Reds women's volleyball team opened their 2017 season with a pair of strong victories at the 2017 Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic hosted by Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, recording wins over the University of Wisconsin-Stout and Central College of Iowa.
 
The pair of wins gives the Lady Reds a 2-0 start to the season, while UW-Stout and Central both finish the first day at 0-2.
 
"It's great to get the season started with two wins," said head coach Leanne Ulmer following day one.  "I thought we served well and played some solid defense.  We had different people step up offensively and contribute.  It was a team effort.  We have two tough teams to face tomorrow so we will have to keep improving!"
 
Carthage 3, UW-Stout 1
The Lady Reds overcame dropping the first set in the opening match of the season to bounce back with a convincing 3-1 win [23-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-20].
 
Carthage hit .223 in the match as a team including a third set .312, which was the best by the Lady Reds in the match. Sophomore Megan Behrendt led the Lady Reds in the win with 16 kills and a .394 hitting percentage, both match bests by Carthage's hitters.
 
Shannon Kebisek was just behind Behrendt with 13 kills, while Ellie LeCount and Abigail McGowan provided the assists for Carthage with 24 and 17 respectively. 
 
Defensively, Luci Krenzke led four Carthage players in double figures with digs as she recorded a match-high 19.  Megan Behrendt added 14 followed by LeCount with 13 and Kebisek with 11.
 
The Lady Reds also recorded seven service aces in the win, with Kebisek, LeCount and Mallory Parsons each with two.
 
Carthage 3, Central 0
The Lady Reds capped the day off with a sweep of the Dutch [25-12, 25-21, 25-21] in a match that coach Ulmer was able to empty most of the bench, getting 15 different players in the match.
 
Senior middle Megan Fallert led the Lady Reds with nine kills and a .500 hitting percentage, followed by Megan Behrendt and Shannon Kebisek with eight each. 
 
Ellie LeCount had another 24 assists performance in the win and served three of the Lady Reds six aces in the win. 
 
Carthage returns to action on Saturday to closeout the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic with Luther College at 10:00 a.m. and hosts Saint Mary's at noon.