BLUEJAYS WIN CCIW OPENER; DOWN CARTHAGE 3-0

Boxscore

ELMHURST, ILL., September 16, 2003-- The Elmhurst College women's volleyball team began their quest for a fourth consecutive College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) championship by winning their CCIW opening match. The Bluejays defeated Carthage College 30-19, 30-18 38-36.

The Bluejays, the preseason number one team in the CCIW, used a 10-3 run in the first game when the score was knotted at 6-6. Elmhurst scored 19 points on their serve, compared to Carthage's seven points.

Game two started similar to game one with the Bluejays trailing Carthage 3-4. Elmhurst used a 10-2 run to establish a 13-6 lead and never looked back. The Bluejays continued to dominate on their serve while Carthage struggled. Elmhurst tallied 19 points on its serve while Carthage managed just six points.

Carthage, the preseason number two team in the CCIW, jumped out to an early lead in the third game, leading by as many as five points on three occasions. Elmhurst trailed 13-18, but responded with a 13-3 run to take a 26-22 lead. Carthage rallied back to tie the score at 28-28. Elmhurst had a match point at 29-28 but could not convert. Carthage scored two straight points to establish a game-point at 29-30. The two teams battled back and fourth, with Carthage fighting off a total of four Bluejay match-points and Elmhurst battling back four Carthage game-points. Carthage had a game-point at 35-36, but the Bluejays won the final three points of the match to win the marathon game.

Nicole Carlson (Forreston-H.S.) led the Bluejays with a 17-kill, 23-dig performance. She was joined in double-figures in kills by Lisa Denman (Dublin, Ohio-Dublin Coffman) and Becky Puccini (Carol Stream-Glenbard North) who finished with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Combined, Carlson, Denman and Puccini totaled 103 attacks and committed a total of just three hitting errors.

Elmhurst dominated with their play at the net, with three Bluejays posting double figures in blocks. Katie Ackerman (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.-H.S.) Led the way with 18 total blocks while Lindsey Mieling (Batavia-H.S.) added 14 blocks. Puccini totaled 11 blocks in the win.

Christy Barone (Addison-Addison Trail) led the team in assists, finishing with 27. Regina Morrone (Orland Park-A.A. Stagg) totaled 25 assists and two service aces while Katie Bequette (Staunton-H.S.) Added 22 digs in the win.

Elmhurst will get right back to work this weekend when they host their second Elmhurst College Invitational this Friday-Saturday (September 19-20).