November 7, 2009
Contact:
Steve Marovich, Sports Information Director (262) 551-5740
E-Mail: stevich@concentric.net or carthagesid@carthage.edu
Carthage 24-Hour Sports Hotline (262) 551-5388
Carthage Women’s Volleyball Wins CCIW Tournament Championship Match;
No. 8 Carthage Sweeps No. 28 North Central, 3-0
2009 CCIW Tournament: The Carthage College women’s volleyball team (31-5), ranked eighth in the Nov. 3 American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll and second in the Nov. 4 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional poll, won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Women's Volleyball Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 7 with a 3-0 sweep over No. 28 North Central College (34-4) at Carthage’s Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. The Lady Reds’ winning set scores over the Cardinals were 25-15, 25-14 and 25-12. Carthage advanced to the championship match on Friday, Nov. 6 with a 3-0 sweep of Elmhurst College (17-17). The Lady Reds’ winning set scores over the Bluejays were 25-13, 25-19 and 25-21. No. 28 North Central College (34-3, ranked fourth in the region) defeated Millikin University (19-20), 3-1, in Friday's first semifinal match. The Cardinals’ winning set scores over the Big Blue were 25-23, 20-25, 26-24 and 25-21. Earlier in the week on Tuesday, Nov. 3, Carthage swept North Park University (9-19, 0-7 CCIW), 3-0, in a tournament play-in match, also at the Tarble Arena. The top-seeded Lady Reds’ winning scores over the eighth-seeded Vikings were 25-10, 25-12 and 25-7 in a match that took just 51 minutes to complete. In the three other play-in matches, second-seeded and No. 28 North Central College (33-3) defeated seventh-seeded Augustana College (Ill., 11-21), 3-1, with winning set scores of 25-20, 25-16, 21-25 and 25-20; sixth-seeded Millikin University (19-19) upended third-seeded Illinois Wesleyan University (19-16), 3-1, with winning set scores of 25-20, 19-25, 25-22 and 25-15; and fourth-seeded Elmhurst College (17-16) knocked off fifth-seeded Wheaton College (Ill., 17-16), 3-0, with winning scores of 25-20, 25-20 and 25-15.
Last Week: Carthage closed out its regular-season CCIW schedule on Wednesday, Oct. 28 with a 3-2 decision over Millikin University (18-15, 2-5 CCIW) at the Griswold Center in Decatur, Ill. The Lady Reds, who had already clinched at least a share of the conference title, its eighth in school history, claimed its fifth-consecutive outright championship with the win over the Big Blue. Carthage went 3-1 at the Friday-Saturday, Oct. 30-31 Wisconsin-Whitewater Tournament IV at the Williams Center in Whitewater, Wis. On Friday, Oct. 30, the Lady Reds lost to St. Ambrose University (28-6), 3-1, before outlasting No. 6 Wisconsin-Whitewater (27-6) by a 3-2 margin. The Fighting Bees’ winning set scores over the Carthage were 28-30, 25-19, 25-23 and 25-23. Carthage’s winning scores over Wisconsin-Whitewater were 24-26, 25-21, 25-22, 16-25 and 15-13. On Saturday, Oct. 31, the Lady Reds defeated No. 29 Simpson College (19-12) and Wisconsin-Platteville (21-11), both by 3-1 scores. The Lady Reds’ winning scores over the Storm were 25-22, 15-25, 25-16 and 25-22, and their winning scores over the Pioneers were 24-26, 25-17, 25-18 and 25-10.
Next Week at the NCAA Regionals: Carthage expects to be one of the top-seeded teams at the one of the Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 12-14 NCAA Division III regional championships. Pairings for the 62-team national championship will be announced by the NCAA on Monday morning, Nov. 9, and six of the eight regional sites were announced on Nov. 4. Carthage will probably be sent to Wisconsin-Oshkosh for the Midwest Regional, but possibly to either Hope College for the Great Lakes Regional or Washington University (Mo.) for the Central Regional. The other three announced sites are Juanita College in Huntingdon, Pa.., New York University in New York, N.Y., and Tufts University in Medford, Mass. The Lady Reds will be making their fifth-consecutive appearance in the championship. After bowing out in the quarterfinals in both 2005 and 2006, both the 2007 and 2008 squads reached the regional-championship match. The 2007 team lost to Washington University (Mo.), 3-1, at the Carthage Physical Education Center, and last year’s team fell to Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 3-2, at the Kolf Sports Center in Oshkosh, Wis.
The CCIW Championship: For Carthage, the 2009 CCIW championship is the eighth in school history, second only to nine titles won by Elmhurst College. Carthage won conference titles in 1990, 1993, a co-championship with Elmhurst in 2004 and outright titles in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
The Polls: Wisconsin-Oshkosh (34-1,22 first-place votes) was ranked first in the Nov. 3 American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll, followed by Juniata College (29-4, 1 first-place vote) second, Washington University (Mo., 25-3, 1 first-place vote) third, defending-national-champion Emory University (30-4) fourth, Hope College (28-2) fifth, Ohio Northern University (23-3) sixth, Wisconsin-Whitewater (29-6) seventh, Carthage College (28-5) eighth, the University of St. Thomas (Minn., 24-6) ninth, Texas-Dallas (23-0) 10th, Wittenberg University (27-7) 11th, Southwestern University (30-3) 12th, Colorado College (30-3) 13th, Calvin College (24-6) 14th and Pacific Lutheran University (18-6) ranked 15th. CCIW-member North Central College (32-3) was ranked 28th in the national poll. Wisconsin-Oshkosh (34-1 overall record, 30-1 in-region mark) was ranked first in the Nov. 4 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional poll, followed by Carthage (28-5, 23-3) second, Wisconsin-Whitewater (29-6, 24-6) third, CCIW-member North Central (Ill., 32-3, 27-2) fourth, Wisconsin-Platteville (21-12, 16-8) fifth, Wisconsin-Eau Claire (29-6, 27-5) sixth, CCIW-member Illinois Wesleyan University (19-15, 17-11) seventh and the University of Chicago (25-12, 21-11) ranked eighth.
2008 NCAA Midwest Regional: For the second year in a row, Carthage (32-5, 7-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) fell one win short of a trip to the national championship. The Lady Reds, ranked 10th in the Nov. 11 Bison/American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll, lost the Saturday, Nov. 15 title match at the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Midwest Regional Championship, 3-2, to No. 7 Wisconsin-Oshkosh (40-2) at Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s Kolf Sports Center in Oshkosh, Wis. The top-seeded Titans outlasted the second-seeded Lady Reds, 25-23, 25-19, 16-25, 20-25 and 15-10. Carthage lost to eventual-national-champion Washington University (Mo.) in the championship match of last year’s NCAA Midwest Regional Championship at the Carthage Physical Education in Kenosha, Wis. Carthage made its fourth-straight NCAA appearance in 2008, and the Lady Reds went to five sets in all three regional contests. In the Friday, Nov. 14 semifinals, Carthage came up with a 3-2 win over No. 15 Wisconsin-Whitewater (30-10) with winning set scores of 25-23, 25-17, 19-25, 23-25 and 15-8. UW-Whitewater won the 2005 NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship, finished third in 2006 and second behind Washington University (Mo.) last year. The Lady Reds went 3-0 this year against the Warhawks, winning a 3-1 match on Sept. 5 at the Illinois Wesleyan University Tournament and another 3-1 contest on Oct. 31 at the Wisconsin-Whitewater Tournament IV. Wisconsin-Oshkosh (39-2) was a 3-1 winner over Heidelberg College (31-8) in Friday’s second semifinal match with winning set scores of 19-25, 25-22, 25-16 and 25-22. The Lady Reds survived a Thursday, Nov. 13 quarterfinal match with a 3-2 win over seventh-seeded St. Norbert College (30-4), the Lady Reds winning, 26-24, 23-25, 25-21, 17-25 and 15-6. In Thursday’s first quarterfinal match, sixth-seeded and No. 15 Wisconsin-Whitewater (30-9) defeated third-seeded and No. 12 Calvin College (26-5), 3-1, with winning set scores of 25-18, 22-25, 25-18 and 25-14. In Thursday’s other quarterfinal contests on the other side of the bracket, fourth-seeded Heidelberg College (31-7) defeated fifth-seeded and No. 19 Hope College (26-7), 3-2, with winning set scores of 25-22, 20-25, 27-29, 25-18 and 15-7; with top-seeded and No. 7 Wisconsin-Oshkosh (38-2) sweeping eighth-seeded Lakeland College (25-11), 3-0, with winning set scores of 25-19, 25-16 and 25-19.
2008 CCIW Tournament: Carthage won the CCIW Women’s Volleyball Tournament on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 7-8 at the Tarble Athletic and Recreation Center in Kenosha, Wis. The top-seeded and conference-champion Lady Reds defeated Augustana College (Ill., 23-12), 3-1, on Saturday, Nov. 8 in the tournament-championship match. The Lady Reds’ winning set scores over the Vikings were 18-25, 25-15, 25-10 and 25-23. Carthage swept fifth-seeded Elmhurst College (22-14, 3-4 CCIW), 3-0, in a Friday, Nov. 7 semifinal match. The Lady Reds’ winning set scores over the Bluejays were 25-19, 25-14 and 25-22. Sixth-seeded Augustana College (Ill., 23-11) defeated second-seeded North Central College (24-13), 3-1, in Friday’s first semifinal. The Vikings’ winning set scores over the Cardinals were 27-25, 22-25, 25-14 and 25-20. In the tournament play-in round on Tuesday, Nov. 4, Carthage outlasted eighth-seeded North Park University (19-12, 0-7 CCIW), 3-2, also at the Tarble Athletic and Recreation Center. The Lady Reds’ winning set scores over the Vikings were 21-25, 25-15, 20-25, 25-19 and 15-7. In the other three play-in matches, second-seeded North Central College (24-12, 5-2) defeated seventh-seeded Wheaton College (Ill., 17-16, 2-5), 3-1; sixth-seeded Augustana College (Ill., 22-11, 2-5 CCIW), swept third-seeded Illinois Wesleyan University (18-17, 5-2), 3-0; and fifth-seeded Elmhurst College (22-13, 3-4) defeated fourth-seeded Millikin University (24-13, 4-3) by a 3-2 margin.
The CCIW Streak: With its win over Millikin University on Oct. 28, Carthage extended its CCIW record to 44-straight regular-season conference victories. The Lady Reds’ last conference defeat came at the hands of Augustana College (Ill.) on Oct. 3, 2003 in Rock Island, Ill.
The Coach: Leanne Ulmer is in her ninth year as head coach in 2009 (256-73, .778 winning percentage, 9 years, 12th among active NCAA Division III coaches thru 2008), and she was named CCIW Volleyball Coach of the Year in 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008, as well as American Volleyball Coaches Association Midwest Region Coach of the Year in both 2006 and 2007. Her .759 winning percentage over seven seasons ranks 12th among active NCAA Division III coaches entering the 2008-09 season. Ulmer is ranked first all-time at Carthage in career wins (227) and first in winning percentage (.772). She passed coach Diane Mizerka (190 wins, 1975-82) with a victory over North Park University on Oct. 30, 2007 in the play-in match for the CCIW Women’s Volleyball Tournament. Prior to joining the Lady Reds, Ulmer had a successful career at Lincolnshire (Ill.) Stevenson High School, compiling a 227-75-2 record in eight seasons (1993-2000), along with a 99-13 mark in four seasons (1997-2000) as boys volleyball coach. She had eight-consecutive 20-win seasons in girls volleyball and four 30-win campaigns, with three conference championships, five regional titles and two sectional championships. Barb Clark and Sarah Carlino serve as part-time assistant coaches.
The Conference: The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, in its 64th season in 2009-10, first sponsored volleyball as a championship sport in 1986. Elmhurst College has won a league-leading nine championships (1986-88, 1998 and 2000-04). Carthage has won eight times (1990, 1993, a co-championship with Elmhurst in 2004 and outright titles in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009). Millikin University has won three times (1994, 1995 and 1999). Illinois Wesleyan University has won twice (1991 and 1997), with Augustana College (Ill., 1996), North Central College (1992) and Wheaton College (Ill., 1989) winning one title each. Prior to 2005, the CCIW determined its volleyball championship on the basis of both regular-season and post-season victories. Beginning in 2005, the regular-season champion wins the conference title. The CCIW women’s volleyball coaches picked Carthage (6 first-place votes, 48 points) to repeat in 2009, followed by Illinois Wesleyan (1 first-place vote, 40 points) second, Augustana (Ill., 37 points) third, North Central (31 points) fourth, Elmhurst (28 points) fifth, Millikin (19 points) sixth, Wheaton (Ill., 14 points) seventh and North Park University (7 points) eighth.
CCIW “Players of the Week”: North Central College outside hitter Jenae Harner (Fr., Effingham, Ill.) was named CCIW “Women’s Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week” on Nov. 3, while teammate and libero Stephanie Ryding (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Central) earned “defensive player/setter of the week” honors for the second time this season. Harner averaged 3.72 per set and collected 12 service aces, 65 digs and five block assists, as North Central went 5-0 last week. She hit .345 with 14 kills in a 3-0 win over Augustana on October 27. Harner also achieved double figures in kills in each of the four matches North Central played in at the Benedictine University Tournament over the weekend. She recorded four service aces and 16 digs in a 3-1 win over Coe College on Oct. 30 at the Benedictine University (Ill.) “Eagle Classic.” Ryding, who also earned “defensive player/setter of the week” honors on Sept. 8, finished the week with a 7.39 digs-per-set averaged and nine service aces. She posted at least 30 digs three times, including 35 in a win over Monmouth College on Oct. 31. Ryding was named to the all-tournament team at the Benedictine (Ill.) event
Oct. 30-31 Wisconsin-Whitewater Tournament IV Notes: In Carthage’s 3-1 loss to St. Ambrose University on Oct. 31 at the Wisconsin-Whitewater Tournament IV, outside hitter Lauren Dembkowski (So., Mount Prospect, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey) had 15 kills, right-side player Rachel Swoboda (Jr., De Pere, Wis./Wrightstown) 14 kills, and outside hitter Michelle Madeja (So., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) had 13 kills. Madeja returned to action after missing nine-straight matches with an illness. She had last played in the Oct. 13 Elmhurst College contest…in the Lady Reds’ 3-2 win over No. 6 Wisconsin-Whitewater, also on Oct. 31, Dembkowski had 14 kills, while Swoboda and Madeja had 10 kills each. Middle blocker Amanda Matusky (Sr., Hickory Hills, Ill./Palos Hills-Stagg) collected one block solo and six block assists against the Warhawks. In Carthage’s 3-1 win over Simpson College on Oct. 31, Swoboda had 16 kills and hit .390, while Matusky had seven block assists. In the team’s 3-1 decision over Wisconsin-Platteville, also on Oct. 31, Madeja and middle blocker Cindy Cavanagh (So., Naperville, Ill./Aurora-Waubonsie Valley) each had 10 kills.
Nov. 3 CCIW Tournament Play-in Match Notes: In Carthage’s 3-0 win over North Park University in the Nov. 3 CCIW Women’s Volleyball Tournament play-in match, the Lady Reds jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first set over the Vikings. Carthage pulled away easily, opening up a 12-point lead, 18-6, en route to a 25-10 decision. In the second set, Carthage led by four, 10-6, before using a 7-2 run to go up by nine, 17-8. The Lady Reds closed out the set with an 8-4 edge to win by 13, 25-12. Carthage left nothing to chance in the third and final set, taking a 10-0 lead before the Vikings got on the scoreboard. The Lady Reds out-scored the Vikings, 15-7, the rest of the way to win by 18 points, 25-7. Outside hitter Michelle Madeja (So., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) had kills and hit .391.
CCIW Tournament Semifinal Notes: In the first set of the Carthage-Elmhurst match, Carthage broke open an 8-5 contest with a 9-1 run to take a 17-6 lead. The Lady Reds went on to win that set by 12 points, 25-13. Carthage jumped out to 7-0 lead in the second set. Elmhurst closed to within two, 12-10, and trailed by only three, 17-14, but the Lady Reds inched away to win by six points, 25-19. Set three was very close. Carthage led by no more than three in the early going, and Elmhurst tied the match, 9-9. The Lady Reds ran off five-straight points to take a 14-9 lead. The Bluejays came back to close to within two, 16-14, 17-15, and again at 20-18, before Carthage won five of the last eight points for a 25-21 decision. Rachel Swoboda (Jr., De Pere, Wis./Wrightstown) paced the Lady Reds with 12 kills, a .417 attack percentage and four block assists, while Michelle Madeja (So., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) had 10 kills and hit .272 with 15 digs. Setter Drewann Pancratz collected 28 assists.
CCIW Championship Match Notes: In the Carthage win over North Central, Rachel Swoboda (Jr., De Pere, Wis./Wrightstown) paced the Lady Reds with 13 kills, a .542 attack percentage and four block assists. Michelle Madeja (So., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) had 10 kills and hit .231 with four block assists, while Amanda Matusky (Sr., Hickory Hills, Ill./Palos Hills-Stagg) collected seven block assists. Drewann Pancratz (So., Schaumburg, Ill.) had 27 assists, and Katie Lundgren (Sr., Long Grove, Ill./Lincolnshire-Stevenson) had 21 digs. Swoboda was named the tournament MVP. Joining her on the all-tournament team were Lundgren, Millikin’s Kelsy England, Caitlin O’Hare from Elmhurst, and both Stephanie Ryding and Christy Hermann from North Central.
Carthage Volleyball Notes: Setter Drewann Pancratz (So., Schaumburg, Ill.) leads the Carthage regulars in attack percentage (.291 thru Nov. 8) and assists (9.34 per set)…outside hitter Michelle Madeja (So., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) has a team-leading 3.84 kills-per-set average…middle blocker Jordan Burkholder (So., Rockford, Ill./Christian Life) is second among the Carthage regular in attack percentage (.268), and she leads the team in blocking (1.06 per set)…outside hitter Lauren Dembkowski (So., Mount Prospect, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey) leads the team in service aces (38, 0.31 per set)…libero Katie Lundgren (Sr., Long Grove, Ill./Lincolnshire-Stevenson) has a team-leading 5.96 digs-per-set mark.