#10 Carthage Goes 4-0 to win their own Invitational

The Carthage College women’s volleyball team (27-7, 6-1 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 10th in the Oct. 26 American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll, went 4-0 to win the Friday-Saturday, Oct. 29-30 Carthage Invitational Tournament at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis., Carthage concluded the tournament on Saturday, Oct. 30 with a 3-2 win over No. 29 Trinity University (21-14), followed by a 3-0 sweep of No. 12 the University of St. Thomas (Minn., 27-5). The Lady Reds’ winning set scores over the Tigers were 25-21, 21-25, 22-25, 25-23 and 15-13, while their winning scores over the Tommies were 25-21, 28-26 and 25-19. 

 

Carthage opened play in the tournament on Friday, Oct. 29 with a 3-2 win over No. 13 Heidelberg University (27-4) and a 3-0 sweep of No. 17 Wisconsin-Oshkosh (24-9).  The Lady Reds’ winning set scores over the Student Prince were 25-18, 25-21, 23-25 and 16-14, and their winning scores over the Titans were 25-23, 25-12 and 25-12.

 

After splitting the first two sets against Trinity (Texas), Carthage saw a 19-15 lead disappear in the third set, as the Tigers used a 9-2 run to take a 24-21 lead and went on to win, 25-22.  The Lady Reds fell behind, 20-23, in the fourth set but rallied to take the final five points for a 25-23 decision.  In the fifth-and-final set, Carthage broke a 13-13 tie by taking the final two points to seal the win.  Outside hitter Lauren Dembkowski (Jr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey) led the way with 15 kills and four blocks (1 solo, 3 assisted).  Middle blocker Cindy Cavanagh (Jr., Naperville, Ill./Aurora-Waubonsie Valley) had 13 kills with a .407 attack percentage.  Right-side player Rachel Swoboda (Sr., De Pere, Wis./Wrightstown) had 12 kills with a .387 mark and five block assists, while middle blocker Jordan Burkholder (Jr., Rockford, Ill./Christian Life) collected 11 kills and hit .409.  Setter Drewann Pancratz (Jr., Schaumburg, Ill.) averaged 10.0 assists per set.  Madison McMahon topped Trinity with 22 kills.

 

In the sweep of St. Thomas (Minn.), outside hitter Michelle Madeja (Jr., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) led the way with 10 kills, while outside hitter Lauren Dembkowski had eight kills and a .333 attack percentage. Middle blocker Jordan Burkholder collected five blocks (1 solo, 4 assisted), while setter Drewann Pancratz averaged 10.67 assists per set.

 

With a 2-1 edge In the Heidelberg contest, Carthage saw a 21-16 lead slip away in the fourth set, as Heidelberg took nine of the final 10 points for a 25-22 decision.  Trailing, 14-12, in the fifth-and-final set, Carthage ran off three-straight points to take a 15-12 lead, en route to a 16-14 victory.  Carthage outside hitter Michelle Madeja collected a match-high 24 kills with a .200 attack percentage, while outside hitter Lauren Dembkowski had 18 kills with a .318 mark.  Setter Drewann Pancratz averaged 10.4 assists per set.  Marian Bevington led the Student Prince with 19 kills and a .317 attack percentage and four blocks (1 solo, 3 assisted).

 

After winning a 25-23 nail-biter in the opening set of the Wisconsin-Oshkosh match, Carthage opened up a 18-9 lead in the second set en route to a 25-12 win.  The Lady Reds kept rolling in the third set, opening up a quick 8-1 lead, which they extended to a 10-point margin, 15-5.  The Lady Reds were never seriously challenged in the third-and-final set, winning by a 25-12 margin. Michelle Madeja collected a match-high 20 kills against the Titans with a .545 attack percentage (20-2-33), while right-side player Rachel Swoboda added eight kills with a .286 mark.  Drewann Pancratz averaged a whopping 13.0 assists per set, and middle blocker Jordan Burkholder had six kills and four block assists

 

In the other 3:30 p.m. match on Friday, No. 12 the University of St. Thomas (25-4) defeated No. 29 Trinity University (20-12), 3-1, with winning set scores of 21-25, 25-17, 25-22 and 26-24.  In the two 6 p.m. matches, St. Thomas (Minn., 26-4) swept Heidelberg (27-5), 3-0, while Trinity (Texas, 21-12) outlasted No. 17 Wisconsin-Oshkosh (24-8), 3-2.  The Tommies’ winning set scores over the Student Prince were 25-21, 25-16 and 26-24, while the Tigers’ winning scores over the Titans were 21-25, 25-20, 21-25, 25-17 and 15-8. 

 

In Saturday’s 10 a.m. matches, St. Thomas (Minn., 27-4) swept UW-Oshkosh (24-10), 3-0, and Heidelberg (28-5) swept Trinity (Texas, 21-13), 3-0.  The Tommies’ winning set scores over the Titans were 25-14, 25-18 and 25-14, and the Student Prince’s winning scores over the Tigers were 25-12, 25-22 and 26-24.  In the other Noon match on Saturday, Heidelberg (29-5) swept Wisconsin-Oshkosh (24-11) with winning scores of 25-13, 25-9 and 25-23.Carthage’s Drewann Pancratz and Rachel Swoboda were named to the all-tournament team.

 

The CCIW Women’s Volleyball Tournament gets underway with four play-in matches on Tuesday, Nov. 2. No. 27 Millikin University has the top seed, and the Big Blue will play host to eighth-seeded North Park University. Second-seeded Carthage will entertain seventh-seeded Illinois Wesleyan University in a 7 p.m. play-in match on Tuesday at Tarble Arena. In the other play-in matches, third-seeded Elmhurst College will play host to sixth-seeded North Central College, and fourth-seeded Augustana College (Ill.) will play host to fifth-seeded Wheaton College (Ill.). The highest-remaining seed after Tuesday’s four play-in matches plays host to the Friday-Saturday, Nov. 5-6 CCIW Women’s Volleyball Tournament.