Carthage Women's Volleyball Falls to UW-Oshkosh, 3-2, in NCAA Regional Final

For the second year in a row, the Carthage College women’s volleyball team (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.

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.
 
In the opening set of the title match, Carthage fell behind, 14-9, before battling back to 15-14.  The Titans took an 20-16 lead, but the Lady Reds took five-straight points to take a 21-20 lead.  Wisconsin-Oshkosh closed out the set on a 5-2 won to win, 25-23.  In the second set, Carthage opened with a 5-0 lead before UW-Oshkosh took the lead to stay, 7-6.  The Titans worked their way to a 20-12 lead, and the Lady Reds got no closer than five points the rest of the way, 24-19, before losing, 25-19.  In set three, Carthage again opened with a 5-0 lead and led by eight, 13-5, and then 10, 17-7, and then 11, 20-9, en route to a 25-16 win. 

The Lady Reds opened the fourth set with a 6-0 lead and led, 9-2, before the Titans closed to within three, 15-12.  Still leader by three, 21-18, Carthage won four of the final six points for a 25-20 win.  In the fifth and final set, Carthage fell behind, 5-2, and UW-Oshkosh inched away to a 10-6 lead.  The Lady Reds cut the lead to 10-7.  The Titans made it 11-7, before Carthage scored to make it 11-8.  Wisconsin-Oshkosh ran off three-straight points to take a 14-8 lead.  Carthage took the next two to shave the margin to 14-10, but the Titans took the final point for a 15-10 win and 3-2 match decision.  Michelle Madeja collected 10 kills for the Lady Reds, while Jordan Burkholder had nine kills and no errors in 18 attempts for a .500 attack percentage, along with nine blocks (2 solo, 7 assisted).  Carthage’s Katie Lundgren and Rachel Swoboda were named to the all-tournament team.