Box Score ELMHURST, Ill. - After struggling in the opening set, the Elmhurst volleyball team rallied to defeat Carthage 16-25, 25-23, 25-13, 25-9 at R.A. Faganel Hall.

Elmhurst, ranked sixth in the latest AVCA poll, struggled in the opening set. The Bluejays fell behind 11-8 and Carthage slowly pulled away, opening up a 20-14 lead before cruising to the 25-16 win. Elmhurst committed eight errors in the set while Carthage (11-8, 0-1 CCIW) hit .394 with just three errors.

The Bluejays fell behind 16-13 in the second set before rallying for the win. Elmhurst (17-1, 2-0 CCIW) ripped off four straight points to take their first lead of the set at 18-17. Carthage evened the match at 22-22 and grabbed a one-point lead on Rachel Mickey's kill. The Bluejays used back-to-back kills from Sam Szarmach and Megan Reynolds to take a 24-23 lead and an error on Carthage gave the Bluejays the set and evened the match.

The Bluejays never trailed in the third set, using a 7-1 run to take a 13-6 cushion. Carthage pulled to within eight points at 13-8, but Elmhurst closed the match on a 12-5 run to take a two sets to one lead.

Elmhurst used a 7-1 run early in the fourth set to grab a quick 10-3 lead and the Bluejays never looked back, racing past the Lady Reds to take the set 25-9 and put the match away.

The Bluejays finished the contest hitting .311 as a team (55-18-119) while Carthage hit .212 (44-20-113). 

Szarmach powered the Bluejays with a double-double, leading the squad in kills (12) and digs (10) while hitting .286. Reynolds put away nine kills and added a match-high four blocks in the win while hitting a team-best .444 (9-1-18). Marci Novak added nine kills and nine digs for the Bluejays. Kaitlyn Wilks chipped in with six kills and three blocks. Katie Rueffer finished with six kills and 16 assists while Lauren Lorenz led the squad in assists with 20. Jess Suarez added seven kills for the Bluejays.

Carthage was led by Emily Heuermann's 15 kills. Heuermann finished with a team-high hitting percentage of .483 (15-1-29). Anne Staudinger added 13 kills for the Lady Reds while Bria Hailey finished with nine. Karen Chin totaled 35 assists for the Lady Reds.

Elmhurst travels to the Wartburg College Tournament on October 5-6.