November 21, 2009
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Carthage Women’s Volleyball Loses NCAA Central Regional Title Match to Washington (Mo.);
No. 8 Lady Reds Finish 2009 Season with 33-6 Record
2009 NCAA Central Regional Championship: The Carthage College women’s volleyball team (33-6), ranked eighth in the final, regular-season American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll, lost to No. 4 Washington University (Mo., 31-4), 3-0, on Saturday, Nov. 14 in the title match of the NCAA Division III Central Regional Championship at the Washington Field House in St. Louis, Mo. The Bears’ winning set scores over the Lady Reds were 26-24, 25-23 and 25-12. Carthage made its fifth-consecutive NCAA regional appearance and its third-consecutive regional-final appearance.
Carthage advanced to an NCAA regional championship match for the third-straight year with a 3-0 sweep of No. 22 Nebraska Wesleyan University (18-12) on Friday, Nov. 13 in the semifinals. The Lady Reds’ winning set scores over the Prairie Wolves were 25-13, 28-26 and 25-19. No. 4 Washington (Mo., 30-4) defeated No. 30 St. Mary’s University (Minn., 22-10), 3-1, in the other semifinal on Nov. 13, with the Bears winning, 25-21, 24-26, 25-18 and 25-22.
Carthage opened play in the 62-team NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship on Thursday, Nov. 12 with a 3-0 sweep of Simpson College (21-14) in the quarterfinal. In the other quarterfinal contests, No. 22 Nebraska Wesleyan University (18-11) defeated Wisconsin-Platteville (22-15), 3-1,; No. 30 St. Mary’s University (Minn., 22-9) defeated Thomas More College (28-11), 3-1; and top-seeded and No. 4 Washington (Mo., 29-4) swept Webster University (20-13), 3-0. Nebraska Wesleyan’s winning set scores over Wisconsin-Platteville were 25-17, 20-25, 26-24 and 25-21. St. Mary’s winning scores over Thomas More were 23-25, 25-21, 25-20 and 27-25. Washington’s winning set scores over Webster were 25-17, 25-14 and 25-23.
North Central Also Invited to NCAA Championship: CCIW-member North Central College received an at-large berth to the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship. The Cardinals were shipped to the Great Lakes Regional Championship at Hope College’s DeVos Fieldhouse in Holland, Mich. No. 28 North Central (Ill., 35-4) upset No. 19 Heidelberg College (27-8), 3-1, in a Thursday, Nov. 12 quarterfinal match. The Cardinals’ winning set scores over the Student Prince were 25-22, 23-25, 26-24 and 25-23. In the other quarterfinal contests, No. 5 Ohio Northern University (29-3) defeated Bluffton College (27-6), 3-1; No. 11 Calvin College (28-6) defeated No. 10 Wittenberg University (24-8); 3-0, and No 6 Hope (31-3) swept Lakeland College (23-13), 3-0. North Central (Ill., 35-5) lost to Ohio Northern (30-3), 3-1, in a semifinal match on Friday, Nov. 13, with Hope (32-3) sweeping Calvin (28-7), 3-0, in the other semifinal contest. Ohio Northern’s winning scores over North Central were 25-12, 22-25, 25-20 and 25-16. Hope (33-3) won the regional with a 3-1 decision over Ohio Northern (35-6).
2009 NCAA National Championship: The eight regional champions advanced to the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship in University Heights, Ohio. In the Nov. 19 quarterfinals, No. 1 Juniata College swept No. 18 Trinity University (30-12), 3-0; No. 2 Wisconsin-Oshkosh defeated No. 27 Christopher Newport University (36-7), 3-1; No. 4 Washington University (Mo.) defeated No. 13 Colorado College (35-5), 3-1; and No. 6 Hope College defeated No. 28 Tufts University (31-5), 3-1. Juniata (36-3) swept Wisconsin-Oshkosh (39-3), 3-0, in a Nov. 20 semifinal match, with Washington (Mo., 33-4) outlasting Hope (34-4), 3-2, in the other semifinal contest. Juniata (36-3) will play Washington (Mo., 33-4) in the Nov. 21 national-championship match.
Three Lady Reds Named AVCA All-America: Three Carthage players were named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America team. Outside hitter Michelle Madeja (So., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley, .214 attack percentage, 3.73 kills per set was named first-team All-American, libero Katie Lundgren (Sr., Long Grove, Ill./Lincolnshire-Stevenson, 5.95 digs-per-set mark) second-team, and right-side player Rachel Swoboda (Jr., De Pere, Wis./Wrightstown, .244, 2.12 kills per set, 0.88 blocks per set) earned honorable mention honors.
Four Lady Reds Named AVCA All-Region: Four Carthage players were named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Midwest Region team. Libero Katie Lundgren (Sr., Long Grove, Ill./Lincolnshire-Stevenson, 5.95 digs-per-set mark) outside hitter Michelle Madeja (So., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley, .214 attack percentage, 3.73 kills per set) and right-side player Rachel Swoboda (Jr., De Pere, Wis./Wrightstown, .244, 2.12 kills per set, 0.88 blocks per set) were named first-team all-regional, while setter Drewann Pancratz (So., Schaumburg, Ill., .289, 9.28 assists per set) was named honorable mention all-region.
Five Carthage Starters Named All-CCIW: Five Carthage starters were named to the 2009 All-CCIW team. Libero Katie Lundgren (Sr., Long Grove, Ill./Lincolnshire-Stevenson) was named CCIW “Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year” and first-team All-CCIW for the second-straight year. Joining her on the first team were outside hitter Michelle Madeja (So., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) right-side player Rachel Swoboda (Jr., De Pere, Wis./Wrightstown). Setter Drewann Pancratz (So., Schaumburg, Ill.) was named second-team all-conference, while outside hitter Lauren Dembkowski (So., Mount Prospect, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey, .219, 2.98 kills per set, 0.32 service aces per set) earned honorable mention All-CCIW honors. Swoboda earned first-team all-conference honors last year and second team in 2007, while Pancratz and Dembkowski were both named second-team All-CCIW in 2008. Carthage coach Leanne Ulmer was named CCIW “Women’s Volleyball Coach of the Year” for the fifth time since 2002.
2009 CCIW Tournament: Carthage 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.
2009 NCAA National Championship: John Carroll University’s DeCarlo Varsity Center in University Heights, Ohio, will be the site of the 2009 NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship on Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 19-21. John Carroll and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission are the co-hosts for this year’s championship.
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: Juniata College (31-3, 19 first-place votes) was ranked first in the final, regular-season American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll, followed by Wisconsin-Oshkosh (35-2 ,4 first-place votes) and defending-national-champion Emory University (34-4, 1 first-place vote) tied for second, Washington University (Mo., 28-4) fourth, Ohio Northern University (26-3) fifth, Hope College (30-3) sixth, Wisconsin-Whitewater (31-6) seventh, Carthage College (31-5) eighth, Texas-Dallas (25-0) ninth, Wittenberg University (24-7) 10th, Calvin College (27-6) 11th, Southwestern University (33-3) 12th, Colorado College (33-3) 13th, the University of St. Thomas (Minn., 24-7) 14th and the College of St. Benedict (26-5) ranked 15th. CCIW-member North Central College (34-5) was ranked 28th in the national poll.
Carthage at the NCAA Regional: Carthage qualified for the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship from 2005 to 2008. 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 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 completed her ninth year as head coach in 2009 (260-73, .781 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, 2008 and 2009, 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 Leaders: Carthage outside hitter Michelle Madeja (So., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) was second in CCIW kills (3.73 per set), while outside hitter Lauren Dembkowski (So., Mount Prospect, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey was fifth (2.98 per set). Setter Drewann Pancratz (So., Schaumburg, Ill.) was third in assists (9.28 per set). Dembkowski was 10th in service aces (0.32 per set), and libero Katie Lundgren (Sr., Long Grove, Ill./Lincolnshire-Stevenson) was third in digs (5.95 per set). As a team, Carthage was ranked second in attack percentage (.218), first in kills (12.61 per set), first in assists (10.94 per set), first in blocks (2.45 per set) and third in service aces (1.59 per set).
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.
NCAA Central Regional Quarterfinal Notes: Carthage’s winning set scores over Simpson were 25-18, 25-16 and 25-21. In the first set, Carthage jumped out to a 12-5 lead. Trailing, 14-7, the Storm closed to within four, 14-10. Simpson got to within three on two occasions, the last at 16-13. Simpson trailed by four, 21-17, before the Lady Reds closed out the set with a 4-1 run to win by seven, 25-18. In set two, the Lady Reds quickly opened a 7-0 lead. The Storm rallied with a 7-3 run to close to within three, 10-7. A 7-2 Carthage bumped the Lady Reds’ lead to eight points, 17-9. Simpson made a four-point set, 19-15, but Carthage closed out the set with a 6-1 run to win by nine, 25-16. Set three was close. While Carthage had an early, five-point at 7-2, Simpson came back to take its first lead in the match, 11-10. The Lady Reds answered with a 9-3 run to go up by five, 19-14. The Storm edged to within two, 23-21, but Carthage hung on to win by four, 25-21. Michelle Madeja (So., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) led the Lady Reds with eight kills and hit .231. Rachel Swoboda (Jr., De Pere, Wis./Wrightstown) had seven kills and hit .368 with three service aces, while Lauren Dembkowski (So., Mount Prospect, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey) also had seven kills.
NCAA Central Regional Semifinals Notes: In the Lady Reds’ semifinal win, Carthage dismantled Nebraska Wesleyan in the first set, 25-13. After falling behind, 3-1, in the early going, the Lady Reds used a 12-1 run to take a 13-4 lead and were never threatened after that. The lead went to 12 points, 20-8, and that was Carthage’s winning margin. Set two was a different story, although Carthage prevailed, 28-26. After falling behind, 2-0, the Prairie Wolves took off on a 10-5 run that gave them a 10-7 lead. The Lady Reds re-gained the lead, 12-11, fell behind, 13-12, and were tied at 15-15 before falling behind, 18-15. Carthage tied the set, 22-22, 23-23 and 24-24 before taking a 25-24 lead on a kill by Cindy Cavanagh. Nebraska Wesleyan tied it, 25-25, and took a 26-25 lead, but the Lady Reds tied at 26-26 before taking the final two points on back-to-back Cavanagh kills for a 28-26 decision. The third set was a one or two-point contest until Carthage took a 12-9 lead. The lead went four points, 14-10 and again at 15-11 and 16-12 before the Lady Reds made it a six-point contest at 18-12 and again at 19-13. The Prairie Wolves closed to within two, 21-19, before Carthage ran off the final four points for a 25-19 decision. Cindy Cavanagh (So., Naperville, Ill./Aurora-Waubonsie Valley) collected a match-high 12 kills and hit .308. Michelle Madeja (So., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) had 11 kills, while Lauren Dembkowski (So., Mount Prospect, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey) had 10 kills and hit .235. Libero Katie Lundgren (Sr., Long Grove, Ill./Lincolnshire-Stevenson) totaled 31 digs.
NCAA Central Regional Title Match Notes: The first set was everything you’d expect from a championship match with 13 ties. No more than two points separated the two teams in the early going. Carthage had a two-point lead of five occasions, the last at 15-13, before Washington took a 17-15 edge. The Bears never trailed after that, although the Lady Reds tied the set four times, including 24-24 after trailing, 24-22. Washington won the final two points for a 26-24 margin, the final point coming on an attack error by Amanda Matusky.
Carthage fell behind, 5-2, in set two but came back to take a 7-5 lead. After that the match settled into another slugfest, much like the first set. Once the Bears tied things at 7-7, no more than a point separated the two teams until Carthage opened up a two-point edge, 19-17. Still leading by two, 22-20, the Lady Reds were unable to put the Bears away. Washington tied the set at 22-22. Coach Leanne Ulmer called a timeout, and then called a second timeout with a 24-23 deficit, but an attack error by Lauren Dembkowski gave the Bears a 25-23 decision and a 2-0 edge in the match. There were 16 ties in set two.
The emotion of the first two sets may have drained Carthage a bit, as the Lady Reds fell behind quickly in set three, 9-3. However, the never-say-die Carthage squad rallied to within three points, 10-7. The Bears took off at that point, running off five unanswered points to open up an eight-point lead, 15-7. Washington increased the margin to a nine-point edge, 17-8, and went to win by 13 points, 25-12.
Carthage’s Lauren Dembkowski (So., Mount Prospect, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey) had 10 kills and hit .237, while Lauren Budde led the Bears with 12 kills and a .226 attack percentage. Washington setter Marilee Fisher was named the tournament MVP. Also named to the all-tournament team were Lauren Budde and Kelly Pang from Washington (Mo.), Rachel Swoboda and Lauren Dembkowski from Carthage, Ashley Jedlicka from Nebraska Wesleyan and Sarah Gardner from St. Mary’s (Minn.).
Quoting Coach Leanne Ulmer on the Nov. 12 NCAA Regional Quarterfinal Match: “Without a doubt, we’re happy to have the first match out of the way. Everybody was a little nervous, but the girls did a nice job. We played OK, but Nebraska Wesleyan is big, and we’re going to have to play better. They’re not only big, they’re very athletic. The challenge is on. Simpson didn’t play their best, but maybe we had a little something to do with that. As a coach, you worry about everything, and you definitely worry about playing low-seeded teams. You don’t want to take any team for granted this time of year, and I’ve already heard about upsets all over the place in other regions. We did an especially-nice job of protecting the lead, and Simpson only led once in the entire match. We like to play aggressively, and when stop being that way, sometimes we get in trouble. After we got behind in the third set, we started playing better defense and got some better swings.”
Quoting Coach Leanne Ulmer on the Nov. 13 NCAA Regional Semifinal Match: “I’d like to say I was surprised by the 12-1 run in the first set, but I really wasn’t. We came out to play, and Rachel Swoboda went on a tear with her serve in that set. It was impressive. We played great defense, and I think our serving got them off-balance in the beginning. When we got down, 23-19, in the second set, I was thinking, ‘Let’s turn this around.’ The girls put their serves where they were supposed to go, and we put some pressure on them. After the first set, we knew it was going to be a battle, so that win in the second set was probably the key to winning the match. If Nebraska Wesleyan ties that match, 1-1, who knows? I think that second set took some wind out of their sails. At the end of the third set, we couldn’t get those points fast enough. Unlike basketball, time doesn’t run out. It seemed a long time before we got to 25 points. Everybody played very well against a very tough opponent. Washington University, if that’s who we play in the championship match, has had a great program for a lot of years. This year’s team is a little younger than the one we played in 2007 regional-championship match, but whoever we play will be a formidable opponent.”
Quoting Carthage Libero Katie Lundgren on the Nov. 13 NCAA Regional Semifinal Match: “We all have a lot of confidence in each other and in ourselves to get the job done. We keep pushing, and we don’t give up. We back up each other up. If one person doesn’t get the perfect pass, we try to adjust and make things better for all of us.”
Quoting Coach Leanne Ulmer on the Nov. 14 NCAA Regional Title Match: “The first set was like a prize fight—we throw a punch, and they throw a punch. It came down to a couple of points at the end. I give Washington all the credit, because they made some great plays when they needed to. We didn’t make the plays at the end like we needed to. The second set was more of the same. We had our chances to put that second set away, particularly at 22-20, but we just didn’t get it done. We’ve been doing it all year, but who knows why these things happen? We just needed one big play to win either of the first two sets. The third set was different. Washington kept the pressure on us, and I think we lost some of our confidence. Once it goes South, it’s hard to get it turned back around. We could have been up, 2-0, but we were down, 0-2. Washington played a pretty clean match, and we probably had a few unforced errors. It’s frustrating to keep getting to this point in the tournament and not getting past it. It’s heartbreaking for the kids, but hopefully we can get back here and take that next step.”
Carthage Volleyball Notes: Setter Drewann Pancratz (So., Schaumburg, Ill.) led the Carthage regulars in attack percentage (.289) and assists (9.28 per set)…outside hitter Michelle Madeja (So., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) had a team-leading 3.73 kills-per-set average…middle blocker Jordan Burkholder (So., Rockford, Ill./Christian Life) was second among the Carthage regular in attack percentage (.275)…middle blocker Amanda Matusky (Sr., Hickory Hills, Ill./Palos Hills-Stagg) led the team in blocking (1.12 per set)…outside hitter Lauren Dembkowski (So., Mount Prospect, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey) led the team in service aces (42, 0.32 per set)…libero Katie Lundgren (Sr., Long Grove, Ill./Lincolnshire-Stevenson) had a team-leading 5.95 digs-per-set mark.