CHICAGO, Ill. — The No. 4 Carthage College women's volleyball team picked up a 3-0 straight-set victory over Grinnell in the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Tournament opening round Friday at the Ratner Center. 

It was a back-and-forth effort to start with Carthage (28-3) taking an early 10-7 lead over Grinnell (27-4). A kill from Andrea Kozak and a service ace by Laura de Rosales stretched the lead to 15-11. Carthage closed out the set with a 10-3 run to take set one. The Pioneers jumped out to a 4-0 advantage to start the second before Carthage battled back to tie it with a kill from Haley Horner. Carthage made the score 16-11 with back-to-back kills from Shannon Kebisek and Kozak. Three straight service aces from Megan Behrendt made the score 20-11. Carthage took a two set lead with a kill from Behrendt. The Lady Reds held a 5-3 margin to begin the third until Grinnell rallied to tie the set at six. A service ace from Megan Dawrant forced a Pioneers timeout with the Carthage leading 11-9. Grinnell rallied late but Lady Reds collected the final two points to take the straight-set victory. 

The Lady Reds are back in action tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. facing No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the second round of the NCAA DIII Women's Volleyball Tournament. 
 

Post-Match Interview 

Quick Facts

• The Carthage defense held Grinnell to a .084 hitting percentage. 
• Haley Horner collected double-digits in kills with 10 while Shannon Kebisek and Megan Behrendt finished the match with eight and seven kills respectively. 
• Behrendt and Megan Dawrant each registered four service aces on the day.
• Ellie LeCount collected 32 assists in the match.