November 19, 2011
Contact:
Steve Marovich, Sports Information Director (262) 551-5740
E-Mail: stevemarovich@tds.net or carthagesid@carthage.edu
Carthage Web Page: http://athletics.carthage.edu/index.aspx
Carthage 24-Hour Sports Hotline (262) 551-5388
Women’s Volleyball Falls to Christopher Newport at NCAA Semifinals;
No. 9 Lady Face No. 6 Christopher Newport in Saturday’s Semifinals
2011 NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship: The Carthage College women’s volleyball team (34-7, 7-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked ninth in the Nov. 8 American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll, saw its NCAA championship run end on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 19 with a 3-0 loss to No. 6 Christopher Newport University (38-4) in the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship at the Washington University Field House in St. Louis, Mo. The Captains’ winning set scores over the Lady Reds were 25-14, 25-22 and 25-11.
Carthage opened its first-ever appearance in the “elite eight” of the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship on Friday afternoon, Nov. 18 with a 3-2 win over No. 20 Springfield College (34-3) at the Washington University Field House in St. Louis, Mo. Carthage’s winning set scores over Springfield were 24-26, 25-18, 25-21, 19-25 and 15-6.
Also on Carthage’s side of the bracket, No. 6 Christopher Newport University (37-4) defeated No. 18 the State University of New York-Cortland (42-2), 3-1, with winning scores of 20-26, 25-16, 25-10 and 25-18. On the other side of the bracket, No. 4 Eastern University (36-2) swept No. 11 the University of St. Thomas (Minn., 32-5), 3-0, with winning scores of 26-24, 25-18 and 25-19. No. 5 Wittenberg University (35-3) swept No. 17 California Lutheran University (29-7), 3-0, in Friday’s final quarterfinal match with scores of 25-17, 25-15 and 25-12). Wittenberg (36-3) swept Eastern (36-3), 3-0, in Saturday’s second semifinal match with winning scores of 25-21, 25-13 and 25-19.
Wittenberg (37-3) won the Sunday, Nov. 20 title match, 3-0, over Christopher Newport (38-5) with scores of 25-21, 25-21 and 28-26. Carthage’s Cindy Cavanagh (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Aurora-Waubonsie Valley) was named to the all-tournament team.
2011 NCAA Regional Championship: Carthage won the regional championship on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 13 with a come-from-behind, 3-2 win over No. 2 Washington University (Mo., 34-2) at the Washington University Field House in St. Louis, Mo. The Lady Reds winning set scores over the Bears were 20-25, 12-25, 25-23, 25-22 and 15-11. The Bears’ only other loss this year was to then-No. 3 Emory University on Oct. 16.
Carthage advanced to the regional finals with a 3-0 sweep of CCIW-member and No. 16 Elmhurst College (31-6) in the Saturday, Nov. 12 semifinals The Lady Reds’ winning set scores over the Bluejays were 25-20, 25-19 and 27-25. Carthage opened regional play on Friday, Nov. 11 with a 3-0 sweep of Edgewood College (21-14) with winning scores of 25-13, 25-12 and 25-16.
Carthage at the NCAA Regional: This is Carthage’s eighth NCAA appearances and seventh in a row. The Lady Reds qualified for the regional championship in 1990 and again from 2005 to 2010. After bowing out in the quarterfinals in both 2005 and 2006, the 2007, 2008 and 2009 squads reached the regional-championship match. The 2007 team lost to Washington University (Mo.), 3-1, at the Carthage Physical Education Center. The 2008 team fell to Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 3-2, at the Kolf Sports Center in Oshkosh, Wis., and the 2009 squad lost to Washington University (Mo.), 3-0, in St. Louis, Mo. The 2010 squad lost in the regional semifinals at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.
2011 CCIW Tournament: Carthage won the CCIW Women’s Volleyball Tournament championship match on Saturday, Nov. 5 with a 3-2 win over No. 17 Elmhurst College (30-5) at Carthage’s Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. The Lady Reds’ winning set scores over the Bluejays were 25-17, 25-21, 22-25, 22-25 and 17-15. With the win, Carthage claims the league’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship. Carthage defeated Wheaton College (Ill., 22-13, 4-3 CCIW), 3-1, on Friday night, Nov. 4 in the semifinals of the tournament. The Lady Reds’ winning set scores over the Thunder were 25-11, 25-17, 18-25 and 25-20. No. 17 Elmhurst College (30-4) outlasted Millikin University (26-11), 3-2, in the earlier semifinal contest. The Bluejays’ winning scores were 20-25, 25-18, 26-24, 20-25 and 15-6.
Earlier in the week on Tuesday, Nov. 1, Carthage swept North Park University (15-18, 0-7 CCIW), 3-0, in a CCIW Women’s Volleyball Tournament play-in match at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. The top-seeded Lady Reds’ winning set scores over the eighth-seeded Vikings were 25-17, 25-6 and 25-7.
In the three other play-in matches on Nov. 1, second-seeded Millikin University (26-10, 6-1) swept seventh-Augustana College (Ill., 9-23, 1-6), 3-0; third-seeded and No. 17 Elmhurst College (29-4, 5-2) swept sixth-seeded Illinois Wesleyan University (19-14, 2-5), 3-0; and fourth-seeded Wheaton College (Ill., 22-12, 4-3) swept fifth-seeded North Central College (18-16, 3-4), 3-0. Millikin’s winning set scores over Augustana (Ill.) were 25-12, 25-14 and 25-16. Elmhurst’s winning scores over Illinois Wesleyan were 25-18, 25-23 and 25-18, and Wheaton’s winning scores over North Central were 26-24, 25-21 and 25-23.
Three Carthage Players Named AVCA All-American: Three of Carthage’s six starters were named American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American. Outside hitter Michelle Madeja (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley, 3.51 kills per set, .210 attack percentage, 2.96 digs per set) and outside hitter Lauren Dembkowski (Sr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey, 2.83 kills per set, .204 attack percentage, 3.71 digs per set) were named third-team All-America, and setter Drewann Pancratz (Sr., Schaumburg, Ill., 8.96 assists per set, .307 attack percentage, 2.37 digs per set) earned honorable mention honors. All three players were named first-team AVCA All-Midwest Region.
Five Lady Reds Named All-CCIW: Five of Carthage’s six starters were named to the 2011 All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Women’s Volleyball Team, four to the first team. The four first-team honorees were outside hitter Michelle Madeja (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley), middle blocker Cindy Cavanagh (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Aurora-Waubonsie Valley), outside hitter Lauren Dembkowski (Sr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey) and setter Drewann Pancratz (Sr., Schaumburg, Ill.). Defensive specialist Izzy Shaindlin (Jr., Deerfield, Ill./Lincolnshire-Stevenson) earned honorable mention all-conference honors. Madeja was also named CCIW “Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year,” and Leanne Ulmer earned CCIW “Women’s Volleyball Coach of the Year” honors for the sixth time. Madeja also garnered the “player of the year” award in 2010, and she’s Carthage’s fifth player to gain the honor since 1990. Madeja is a three-time first-team All-CCIW player. Cavanagh was second team All-CCIW in 2010. Dembkowski is a four-time all-conference player, second team in 2008, third team in 2009 and first team in both 2010 and 2011. Pancratz is also a four-time All-CCIW pick, second team in both 2008 and 2009 and first team in both 2010 and 2011.
Carthage at the CCIW Tournament: The 2011 tournament championship was the ninth for Carthage since 1990 and its sixth in a row. The Lady Reds also won the tournament in 1990, 1993, 2003 and 2006-2010.
The Polls: Defending-national-champion Wittenberg University (37-3, 24 first-place votes) was ranked first in the final 2011 American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll, followed by national-runner-up Christopher Newport University (38-5) second, Eastern University (36-3) third, Calvin College (33-1) fourth, Carthage College (34-7) fifth, Washington University (Mo., 34-2) sixth, the University of St. Thomas (Minn., 31-5) seventh, Emory University (36-5) eighth, California Lutheran University (29-7) ninth, Juniata College (27-6) 10th, Concordia College (Moorhead, 26-4) 11th, Colorado College (33-7) 12th, Springfield College (34-3) 13th, Hope College (25-7) 14th and Heidelberg University (32-7) ranked 15th. CCIW-member Elmhurst College (31-6) was ranked 19th in the final poll.
The Coach: Leanne Ulmer completed her 10th year
as head coach in 2011 (325-88, .787 winning percentage, 10 years). Ulmer
picked up her 300th career win in a 3-0 decision over Southwestern University
(Texas) on Sept. 16, 2011 in San Antonio, Texas. She was named CCIW Volleyball
Coach of the Year in 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011, as well as American
Volleyball Coaches Association Midwest Region Coach of the Year in both 2006
and 2007. Her .782 winning percentage over nine seasons ranks ninth among
active NCAA Division III coaches entering the 2011 season. Ulmer is
ranked first all-time at Carthage in career wins (325) and first in winning
percentage (.787). She passed coach Diane Mizerka (190 wins,
1975-82) with a victory over North Park University on Oct. 30, 2007.
Last Year: Carthage (31-8, 6-1 CCIW), ranked seventh in the final, regular-season American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll and the second-seeded team in the regional tournament, ended its season on Nov 13 with a 3-0 loss to No. 14 Wisconsin-Platteville (33-3) in the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Regional Championship at Carthage’s Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. Wisconsin-Platteville’s winning set scores were 25-17, 25-17 and 25-16. In the earlier semifinal contest on, No. 3 Washington University (Mo., 33-3) defeated Wartburg (24-16), 3-1, with winning set scores of 25-23, 22-25, 25-19 and 25-14. Washington (Mo., 34-3) swept Wisconsin-Platteville (33-4), 3-0, in the Nov. 14 regional-championship match. The Bears’ winning set scores in the title match were 25-16, 25-21 and 25-19.
On Nov. 12, in front of a boisterous, record-breaking home crowd, Carthage opened regional play with a 3-0 win over seventh-seeded and No. 22 Wisconsin-Oshkosh (24-14) in the quarterfinals. The Lady Reds’ winning set scores over the Titans were 25-15, 25-15 and 25-11. The crowd of 1,200 set a Carthage women’s volleyball attendance record, surpassing a mark of 900 set versus Carroll University in the 2007 regional-championship quarterfinals at the Carthage Physical Education Center, now Tarble Arena.
In the other quarterfinal matches, fifth-seeded Wartburg College (24-15) swept fourth-seeded and No. 16 Wisconsin-Whitewater (28-9), 3-0, with winning set scores of 25-17, 25-23 and 25-17; top-seeded and No. 3 Washington University (Mo., 32-3) swept eighth-seeded Beloit College (19-12), 3-0, with winning scores of 25-18, 25-13 and 25-11; and No. 14 Wisconsin-Platteville (32-3) shut out sixth-seeded Dominican University (Ill., 26-10), 3-0, with winning scores of 25-18, 25-20 and 25-16. Carthage made its seventh NCAA appearance in 2010.
The Conference: The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, in its 66th season in 2011-12, first sponsored volleyball as a championship sport in 1986. Carthage College and Elmhurst College have each won a league-leading nine championships. Carthage won in 1990, 1993, a co-championship with Elmhurst in 2004 and outright titles in 2005-09 and 2011. Elmhurst won in 1986-88, 1998, 2000-03 and a co-championship with Carthage in 2004. Millikin has won four times (1994, 1995, 1999 and 2010). Illinois Wesleyan has won twice (1991 and 1997), with Augustana (Ill., 1996), North Central (1992) and Wheaton (Ill., 1989) winning one title each.
Players of the Week: Elmhurst College middle hitter Megan Reynolds (So., Thornton, Ill./Chicago Heights-Marian Catholic) was named College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin “Women’s Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week” on Oct. 25 for the second time this season, while Carthage College defensive specialist Izzy Shaindlin (Jr., Deerfield, Ill./Lincolnshire-Stevenson) earned “setter/defensive player of the week” honors. Reynolds, who also earned “player of the week” honors on Sept. 13, was named to the all-tournament team at the Oct. 21-22 Elmhurst Invitational II, after helping the Bluejays to a 4-0 record. On Oct. 21, she totaled 12 kills and two blocks in a win over Wisconsin-River Falls and then added 14 kills and three blocks in a win over Wisconsin-Platteville. On Oct. 22, Reynolds recorded 13 kills and seven blocks in a sweep over Simpson before totaling eight kills and four blocks in the Bluejays' win over No. 16 the University of Chicago. Earlier in the week, she totaled eight kills and six blocks in the Bluejays' sweep over CCIW-opponent North Park University. Shaindlin averaged 5.65 digs as Carthage finished 4-1 on the week. She averaged 5.79 digs as Carthage went 3-1 at the Oct. 21-22 Wisconsin-Whitewater Tournament III.
CCIW Statistics: Carthage’s Cindy Cavanagh (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Aurora-Waubonsie Valley) was ranked fourth in CCIW attack percentage (.307 thru Nov. 7). Michelle Madeja (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) was third in kills (3.55 per set) and Lauren Dembkowski (Sr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey) ninth (2.89 per set). Setter Drewann Pancratz (Sr., Schaumburg, Ill.) was fifth in assists (9.23 per set), and Izzy Shaindlin (Jr., Deerfield, Ill./Lincolnshire-Stevenson) was fourth in digs (4.93 per set). As a team, Carthage was ranked third in hitting percentage (.238), second in assists (11.57 per set), second in kills (12.62 per set), third in blocks (2.00 per set) and fifth in service aces (1.25 per set).
2011 NCAA Regional Quarterfinal Match Notes: In the win over Edgewood, Carthage broke an 8-8 tie in the first set with six unanswered points to take a 14-8 lead. After the Eagles pulled to within four, 17-13, the Lady Reds ran off the next eight-straight points for a 25-13 victory. In the second set, Carthage led by three, 12-9, before scoring 11-straight points to take a 23-9 lead, en route to 25-12 decision. The Lady Reds broke open the third-and-final set at the 6-5 mark, running off seven-straight points to go up by eight, 13-5. Carthage went on to win the final set by nine, 25-16. Lauren Dembkowski (Sr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey) led the Lady Reds with 11 kills and a .235 attack percentage. Jordan Burkholder (Sr., Rockford, Ill./Christian Life) had six kills and hit .333 with four block assists, while Michelle Madeja (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) added six kills and four service aces. Setter Drewann Pancratz (Sr., Schaumburg, Ill.) 8.33 assists per set. Jessica Martin topped the Eagles with 11 kills.
“It feels great to get the first match out of the way,” said Carthage coach Leanne Ulmer. “You can’t get to the second one without winning the first one. We served very tough and aced them a few times. Edgewood was struggling a little with their passing, and we played very well. That combination certainly helped us put together a few streaks of points. Edgewood is a pretty good team, so it’s tough to get runs against them. Edgewood doesn’t see offensive players like ours or servers like ours on a regular basis, but they’re a fine team. This was their first trip to the NCAAs, so it was a big deal for them. It’s a big deal for us, too, but we did what we needed to do. It’s strange playing Elmhurst again in the semifinals—we just saw them a few days ago. They’re a great team, and we know each other very well. Not a lot is going to change this time around, and we all know what each other is going to do. It’s just a matter of who executes the best. It should be a great match.”
2011 NCAA Regional Semifinal Notes: Carthage pulled away to an 18-11 lead in the first set. Elmhurst pulled to within two, 22-20, but the Lady Reds ran off the final three points for a 25-20 decision. Carthage fell behind, 10-6, in the second set before taking a 17-16 lead The Lady Reds took eight of the last 11 points to win, 25-19. The Bluejays pulled away to a 20-14 lead in set three, but Carthage tied the set at 23 all. Following ties of 24-24 and 25-25, the Lady Reds took the final two points for the 27-25 win and a sweep of the Bluejays.
“We were down in sets two and three and came back to win, and that was great,” said Carthage coach Leanne Ulmer. “When we got down, I told our girls we just needed to control the passing. We seemed to take our foot off the pedal for a few minutes, and I wanted to make sure we were playing aggressively. I say what I say, and this team just responds. This group is so experience, and we’ve played such a tough schedule, we’ve been in those kinds of spots before.”
Michelle Madeja (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) led Carthage with 12 kills and a .200 attack percentage. Dani Steffa (Sr., Oregon, Ill.) had 10 kills with a .389 attack percentage, and Lauren Dembkowski (Sr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey) added 10 kills. Setter Drewann Pancratz (Sr., Schaumburg, Ill.) averaged 8.00 assists per set. Antoney Veasy Smith led the Bluejays with 16 kills, while hitting .351. “Dani Steffa was awesome,” said Ulmer. “She and Jordan Burkholder are kind of our aces in the hole. Both have the ability to be game-changes, and tonight, Dani was just that.”
“We played a tremendous match,” said Ulmer, “and I’m so happy for my girls. To beat Elmhurst in three sets, or to beat anyone in an NCAA regional semifinal in three seats is a big deal. We’re playing great right now, as well as we’ve played all year. Washington University, if that’s who we’re playing tomorrow, is obviously a great team. We just have to beat them once. We’re excited about this chance. I think we’ll play well, but we’re going to have to be at our best.”
2011 NCAA Regional Championship Notes: In the regional-championship match, Washington (Mo.) never trailed in the first set, although the score was tied at both 11-11 and 13-13. The Bears opened a four-point lead, 20-16, before the Lady Reds scored twice to close the gap to 20-18. Washington went back up by four, 23-19, extended its lead to five, 24-19, and won the set by five, 25-20. The Bears broke open the second set by extending a 12-8 lead to 17-8 with five unanswered points. Washington maintained at least a nine-point spread the rest of the way, going on to win by 13 points, 25-12.
Carthage jumped out to a 6-1 lead in a critical set three and led by as much as six, 15-9. Following a couple of big kills by Drew Hargrave, Washington tied the contest, 18-18. A kill by Michelle Madeja capped a three-point Carthage run to put the Lady Reds up by three, 21-18. Carthage was still leading by three, 22-19, before the Bears used a 4-1 run to tie the set, 23-23, but the Lady Reds took the final two points to win, 25-23. Carthage fell behind in the fourth set, 8-2. The Lady Reds trailed by five, 18-13, before a 7-1 run gave them their first lead, 20-19. The set was tied at 21-21, but Carthage took the next three points to take a 24-21 lead, en route to a 25-22 decision to force a fifth-and-final set.
The Lady Reds took the lead, to stay, in the final set, 4-3. Carthage led by three, 8-5. Washington got as close as one, 8-7, before the Lady Reds took the next three points to go up, 11-8. Carthage still led by three, 13-10, when the Bears took the next point to make it 13-11. The Lady Reds won the last two points for a 15-11 win. “We were playing well,” said Carthage coach Leanne Ulmer, “and you could just feel that it was going to be a match. Michelle Madeja struggled a little in the early going, and then she just went off. Things started bouncing our way, and mistakes that normally get made weren’t happening. Once we got a lead in the third set and held them off, it seemed to turn the tide for us.”
Cindy Cavanagh (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) and Michelle Madeja (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) led Carthage with 14 kills each, with Cavanagh hitting .312 (14-4-32) and collecting four block assists. Jordan Burkholder (Sr., Rockford, Ill./Christian Life) added eight kills. Lauren Budde topped the Bears with 18 kills and a .245 attack percentage, while Meghan Byrne had 16 kills. Madeja was named the tournament’s “most outstanding player,” and she was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Cindy Cavanagh and Lauren Dembkowski (Sr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey), along with Chicago’s Nikki DelZenero, Antoney Veasy Smith from Elmhurst, and both Marilee Fisher and Lauren Budde from Washington (Mo.).
“The word amazing comes to mind,” said Ulmer. “This was the most incredible comeback and show of determination I have ever seen from my team. They were unbelievable, especially after losing the first two sets and struggling a little bit offensively. We’ve never beaten this team, and I told the girls we just need to do it one time. These girls were in a regional final as freshmen, so they’ve been through a lot. We played the toughest schedule in the country this year, and I think it paid off. Washington looked a little shocked at the end, but they are an amazing team. They’re a well-coached, national-caliber team, and it took a super effort on our part to win this. Coach Rich Luenemann wife suffered a brain aneurysm a few months ago, and I feel so much for him. For him to even be here today was amazing. He’s hurting, and his team is hurting.”
“There were upsets all over the country in the regional finals,” said Ulmer, “and no team in this final eight has ever won a national championship. There’s going to be a new national champion this year, and we think it could be Carthage. We’ve been on this Washington Field House court so many times, it almost feels like home. I am so happy for these kids. To finally break through and win a regional title and play for a national championship is just a dream come true.”
2011 NCAA Quarterfinal Notes: Springfield took a 7-3 lead in the first set, which Carthage erased in fairly short order. The set was a one-point contest until the Lady Reds broke a 16-16 tied with four unanswered points to take a 20-16 lead. Carthage was up by three, 23-20, before the Pride scored three straight to tied the set at 23-23. Following a tie at 24-24, Springfield took the final two points for a 26-24 decision. The Lady Reds fell behind right out of the chute in the second set. The Pride took a 6-2 lead, prompting Carthage coach Leanne Ulmer to call a timeout. She called another one a few minutes later, as the Lady Reds fell behind by eight, 10-2. Carthage rallied with a 9-4 run to pull to within three, 14-11. Following a point by the Pride to make it 15-11, the Lady Reds fired back with a 7-0 run to take a three-point lead, 18-15. Leading by two, 20-18, Carthage took the final five points to win by seven, 25-18. The Lady Reds outscored the Pride, 23-8, after Ulmer’s second time out. “We’re known for freaking out at the beginning of things,” admitted Carthage’s Michelle Madeja. “We just decided we had nothing to lose after falling behind that second set.”
Carthage took a 5-1 lead in set three. Still leading by one, 7-6, the Lady Reds extended their lead to five points, 14-9. The Pride pulled to within three at 21-18. Carthage ran off three-straight points to go up by six, 24-18, before Springfield came back to make it a three-point set again, 24-21. Carthage won the set, 25-21. The Pride inched out to an 11-6 lead in the fourth set The Lady Reds got it back to a point on three occasions, the last time at 16-15, before Springfield opened up a four-point lead, 19-15. The Pride extended their margin to seven, 23-17, and went on to win the set by six, 25-19, to force the final set. A couple of Springfield miscues helped Carthage open up a 5-1 lead in the fifth set. After the Pride pulled to within two, 5-3, the Lady Reds took charge with a 10-3 spurt to close out the set with a 15-6 win. “When your opponent starts making mistakes,” said Carthage’s Drewann Pancratz “you want to run with it. We had an opportunity with their mistakes, and we were not going to lose that last set. We’ve been down a lot of this year, and we just fight back and good things seem to happen.”
Michelle Madeja (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) led Carthage with 20 kills. Cindy Cavanagh (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) had 19 kills with a .516 attack percentage (19-3-31) and three block assists, while Lauren Dembkowski (Sr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey) added 14 kills. Setter Drewann Pancratz (Sr., Schaumburg, Ill.) averaged 9.6 assists per set.
“I’m thrilled to get this first one,” said Carthage coach Leanne Ulmer. “The match wasn’t the prettiest we’ve played this season, but we gutted it out against a very good Springfield team. You can’t get to the next one until you win the first one. I’m proud of the way they battled back, even though we weren’t at our best. The momentum can shift on a dime in volleyball, and I was happy to get through this one. Sometimes, we have a tendency to lose our minds, but we’ve played such a great schedule, that once we climb back and find our rhythm, we can play with anyone.”
2011 NCAA Semifinal Notes: Christopher Newport opened up an early, 9-5 lead in the first set. Carthage battled back to tie the score at 14-14, and then the unthinkable happened. The Captains scored 11 unanswered points to win the set by a 25-14 margin. Lady Reds coach Leanne Ulmer called a timeout at 18-14, but Christopher Newport ran off the next seven points in a row. The Captains scored the first four points of the second set to run the streak to 15-straight points. Carthage trailed, 8-2, in the second set but came back to tie the contest, 14-14. “I told our team at a timeout that we had to stop beating ourselves,” said Carthage coach Leanne Ulmer. “It’s tough to win when you make that many unforced errors. Christopher Newport is hard enough to beat without helping them.”
The Lady Reds took their first lead of the second set at 18-17. Following ties at 18-18, 19-19, and 20-20, Carthage took a 21-20 lead on a furious rally. “That rally went on so long,” said Ulmer, “we forgot who the server was.” The Captains knotted it up again at 21 all, but the Lady Reds scored next for a 22-21 lead. There was another tie at 22-22, but Christopher Newport prevailed with the final three points and a 25-22 win. Flash back to the regional final against Washington University (Mo.). Now the Lady Reds had to do things the hard way and try to bounce back from a 2-0 deficit.
It didn’t’ happen this time. Carthage fell behind again, 7-2, in the early going and then by nine, 15-6. With a 16-8 lead, the Captains took off on a six-point streak to take a 14-point lead, 22-8, and went on to win by 14, 25-11.
The Lady Reds really struggled on the offensive end, hitting a negative .023 as a team. Michelle Madeja (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) led Carthage with 10 kills, while Cory Harris led Christopher Newport with 10 kills and a .323 attack percentage.
“I didn’t expect this,” said Carthage coach Leanne Ulmer. “We’ve been playing great. The result was disappointing, but you have to give a lot of credit to Christopher Newport. They didn’t cut us any slack when we forced the errors. They’re a tremendous defensive team, and I knew we were going to have to play a tremendous match to beat them. We didn’t have our best game today, but I am super proud of this team. We’ve been able to pull ourselves out of things all year, and if we could have pulled out the second set, things might have been different. When you get this far, you want to win it all, so nobody is happy about leaving.”
“We came so close so many times over the past four years,” said Michelle Madeja. “We all have a passion for this game, and we really thought we had a chance to win this championship.” “It’s been an awesome season,” said Cindy Cavanagh (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Aurora-Waubonsie Valley). “The ending was bittersweet, but it’s been an amazing four years.”
The Record Book: Outside hitter Michelle Madeja (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) finished her career with 1,580 kills, and she passed Beth Nienhuis (1,434, 1988-91) as Carthage’s career leader in the Oct. 21 Wartburg College match…outside hitter Lauren Dembkowski (Sr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey) is third on the kills list with 1,431 and fifth in digs (1,357)…setter Drewann Pancratz (Sr., Schaumburg, Ill.) is first on the career list for assists with 4,656, and she passed Loran Lilly for the all-time lead earlier this season. Pancratz is also fourth on the all-time list for digs with 1,369…Madeja set a match record with 76 total attempts in the CCIW Women’s Volleyball Tournament championship match versus Elmhurst College, breaking a mark of 68 set by Tara Diehl versus North Park University on Nov. 2, 2000.