KENOSHA, Wis. - The Elmhurst volleyball team's quest for a third straight CCIW championship was dealt a serious blow in a four-set loss to 20th-ranked Carthage College.

Carthage toppled the Bluejays in four sets with scores of 25-17, 25-23, 26-28 and 25-17.

Elmhurst, ranked eighth in the latest AVCA Division III poll, slipped to 25-5 overall and 2-2 in the CCIW. Carthage improved to 22-2 overall and remained unbeaten in league play with the win. 

Carthage jumped all over the Bluejays in the opening set, turning a 9-8 lead into a 10-point cushion with an 11-2 run. Elmhurst totaled 11 kills for the set but could not overcome 14 mistakes that gave Carthage points. The Bluejays committed 10 attack errors and three service errors in the opening set.

Carthage turned a 6-5 early deficit in the second set into a 12-11 lead with a 7-5 run. An ensuing 6-2 run by the Lady Reds put Carthage up by six at 18-12 and forced the Bluejays to burn their final timeout of the set. Elmhurst pulled to within a point at 21-20, but Carthage won three of the next four points to bring up three set points at 24-21. Elmhurst fought off two set points behind a kill from Shannon Burns and a block from Melissa Nava, but Carthage's Emily Huermann put the set away for the Lady Reds on the next point. Mistakes continued to mount for the Bluejays as the squad committed six attack errors, three service errors and three serve receive errors.

Elmhurst fell behind 14-11 in the third set, before a ripping off four straight points to take a 15-14 lead. The two teams traded points to make the score 18-18 before Elmhurst surged in front at 22-21.Back-to-back kills from Sam Szarmach gave Elmhurst a 24-21 lead, but Carthage fought off three set points to pull even at 24-Elmhurst had chances to put the set away at 25-24 and again at 26-25, but Carthage answered back both times. Nava and Hannah Nimrick combined for a block to give Elmhurst a 27-26 lead and an ace from Peggy Clemens sealed the set for the Bluejays.

Carthage controlled the fourth set from the start, scoring the first nine points to put the Bluejays in a deep hole. The Bluejays trailed by as many as 10 points in the set and came no closer than five points as Carthage put the set and the match away. The Lady Reds hit .457 in the set with 19 kills and three errors in 35 swings.

Elmhurst hit .140 for the match with 47 kills and 24 errors in 164 attempts. The Bluejays committed nine service errors and seven serve receive errors in the contest. Elmhurst was strong at the net, totaling 13 blocks in the loss.  Carthage hit .216 as a team with 60 kills and 24 errors in 167 swings. 

Szarmach led Elmhurst in the loss with 14 kills. Jackie Pavilonis added 11 kills and three blocks while Nava totaled nine blocks and four kills in the loss. Burns finished with seven kills and 13 digs for the Bluejays. Nimrick totaled six kills, 37 assists, 12 digs and six blocks while Clemens led the squad in digs with 21.

Heuermann paced Carthage with a match-high 22 kills while hitting .409. Rachel Fields added 11 kills and 13 digs while Karen Chin tallied 45 assists and 15 digs. Hanna Cahoon totaled 20 digs for the Lady Reds.

Elmhurst travels to Illinois Wesleyan University next Wednesday, October 22.