ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst volleyball team could not recover from a slow start, falling 25-15, 25-19, 26-24 loss to Carthage College.
Elmhurst slipped to 9-11 overall and 2-4 in the CCIW with the loss while Carthage upped its record to 15-7 overall and 5-0 in the CCIW.
Carthage hit .400 in the opening set, grabbing a 2-1 lead and never trailing the rest of the way. The Lady Reds led by as many as 11 points before coasting to the 25-15 win. The Bluejays struggled with eight errors in the set.
The second set was even at 7-7 before Carthage seized control with a 3-0 run. Elmhurst pulled to within a point at 13-12, but the Lady Reds answered back with a 4-1 run to build a 17-13 lead. Elmhurst closed to within a point at 17-16 but the Lady Reds finished off the set on an 8-3 run to take a two-set lead.
Carthage grabbed a 7-3 lead to start the third, but Elmhurst battled back, pulling even at 12-12 before surging in front at 19-16 after a 7-4 run. The Lady Reds used a 4-1 run to even the score at 20-all. Carthage built up two set points at 24-22 but a kill from
Alexandra Tyggum and a Carthage error evened the set at 24-24. A block from Carthage and an error on the Bluejays wrapped up the set and the match.
Elmhurst hit .165 for the contest with 39 kills and 20 errors in 115 attempts.
Taylor Zurliene powered Elmhurst in the loss with 10 kills and six digs.
Emily Duis added seven kills while
Payton Froats finished with six.
Bailey Brouwer tallied five kills while Tyggum also finished with kills, all coming in the third set.
Valerie Thomas led the Bluejays in digs with 15 while
Kelly Townsend (19) and
Katie Davis (13) both reached double figures in assists.
Kaila Johnson paced Carthage with 13 kills and 13 digs while Megan Behrendt added 12 kills and nine digs. Ellie LeCount totaled 40 assists while Shannon Kebisek led the team in digs with 12.
Elmhurst plays at Calvin College's Midwest Invitational this weekend (October 12-13).
