CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Carthage College Lady Reds rebounded from a tough Friday night in a big way, defeating Southwestern University and Chapman University Saturday afternoon on the final day of the Pacific Coast Classic.
The pair of wins evened the Lady Reds record on the season at 2-2 and gave Carthage their first win of the season over a top-25 team following the opening win of the day over #9 Southwestern.
#14 Carthage 3, #9 Southwestern
After a tight first set, 26-24, the Lady Reds cruised past the Pirates, committing just five errors over the final two sets and outhitting SU .349 to .132.
No Lady Reds were in double digits in kills but
Ellie LeCount spread the ball around evenly with
Shannon Kebisek,
Nicole Acton and
Linda Morton each registering nine kills. Morton's nine kills came off 13 attacks and committed just one error on her way to a team best .615 attack. LeCount finished with 32 assists and tied with
Megan Behrendt with 12 digs and led the Lady Reds with a pair of aces in the win.
#14 Carthage 3, Chapman 1
A complete team effort led the Lady Reds past Chapman in Carthage's final match of the day. Carthage won every statistical category with 52 kills to 50, seven aces to four, 11 blocks to seven, 49 assists to 46 and 52 digs with 51. Additionally, as a team the Lady Reds hit .273 to the Panthers' .206.
Megan Behrendt and
Shannon Kebisek led Carthage in kills with 14 and 13 respectively, while LeCount dished out 38 assists.
Sarah Grabowski and Laura De Rosales had three and two aces respectively.
Defensively, LeCount and Grabowski also led the Lady Reds as they combined for 26 digs and
Katie Laio was a force at the net with seven blocks followed by Morton and Acton with four each.
Following the first week of classes, the Lady Reds will return to the road and head to St. Louis for the 2018 Washington University Tournament. Carthage will take on MacMurray College and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on Friday, followed by Birmingham Southern College and Wash. U on Saturday.
