Lady Reds Punch Their Ticket to the NCAA Quarterfinals with Five-Set Win over Chicago

Carthage (30-3) jumped out to a 5-3 margin to start the first before Chicago (28-4) battled back to take the lead at 9-7 forcing a Lady Reds timeout. Carthage regained the lead with a kill from Megan Behrendt at 12-11. Back-to-back kills for the Maroons switched the score to 14-12 until the Lady Reds once again tied the set at 15. A kill from Shannon Kebisek gave Carthage a four-point margin (20-16) however, Chicago rallied late to tie the set at 24 before collecting the two points to take a one-set lead.

In the second set, the Lady Reds started with a 8-3 advantage sparked by back-to-back service aces from Autumn McGee. The Maroons retaliated to cut the lead to one at 12-11. Later in the set, another kill from Behrendt made the score 20-16 and a final kill from Haley Horner tied the match at one set apiece.

Carthage jumped out to a 7-1 advantage to start the third. Chicago climbed back to shrink the deficit to 10-6. An attack error for the Maroons made the score 15-8. A kill from Behrendt and a Chicago attack error gave the Lady Reds a two-set lead at 25-17.

The Maroons started the fourth with a 11-4 lead before Carthage battled back to tie it at 20. Chicago went on to force a fifth set at 25-21.

It was a back-and-forth effort to start the fifth with the score knotted at five. Back-to-back kills for the Maroons made it 7-5 and later made it 11-10 off an attack error. The Lady Reds responded with four unanswered points to take the 15-12 victory.

The NCAA Championships begin on Thursday, November 21 and will be held at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

All-Tournament Team

Amanda Walker, CMS
Emma Griffith, Chicago
Madison Pearson, Chicago
Carlie Craycraft, Otterbein
Megan Behrendt, Carthage
Haley Horner, Carthage
Ellie LeCount, Carthage – MVP