11/18: Captains, Lady Reds, Eagles, Tigers moving on

I thought we had some good quarterfinal battles this year. Sometimes that’s not the case. Let me know what you thought of tonight’s matches. Here’s what caught my eye. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. You know that I picked CNU and Witt to win before today. I’ll stick with that prediction. What do you think will happen tomorrow?

I’ll add the 2011 Nationals Guide link again to supplement your Saturday viewing.

No. 6 Christopher Newport 3, No. 18 Cortland 1. The Captains are in the semifinal round for the first time. Christopher Newport (37-4) moves on to play No. 9 Carthage (34-6) tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. central. Cortland had its 22-match winning streak snapped and ended the year at 42-2.

Net play was the difference to me. Cortland set a solid block that allowed the back row to clean up in a Set 1 victory. However, Christopher Newport didn’t help its cause with Set-1 hitting errors. The Cortland ball control was shaky after that first set, and the Christopher Newport net defense took advantage with several blocks and countless touches. There just weren’t many hitting options for Cortland. When there were options, they were usually sniffed out by a wall of Christopher Newport hands.

Christopher Newport stepped up the service pressure and varied its shots, but the Captains’ bread is still buttered in the middle. The All-American combo of setter Jessie Heavenrich and middle Bailey Jensen were in sync for most of the match, and the Cortland block that proved formidable in the first set was oftentimes too late. Heavenrich had 48 assists, eight digs, three kills and three blocks. Jensen had 16 kills and five blocks. Captains outside Cory Harris added 12 kills and 11 digs.

Cortland sophomore middle Ava Hintz provided a spark off the bench in Set 4, but momentum was decidedly in Christopher Newport’s favor. Hintz went 4-0-10 with an ace in Set 4. Senior middle and co-captain Kaitlyn Cooper led Cortland with eight kills and six blocks. The Cortland All-America hitting duo of Ashley Coyle and Sheena Asibey combined to go 11-11-52 and the Red Dragons hit .089 overall. Coyle added a match-high 21 digs.

No. 9 Carthage 3, No. 20 Springfield 2. Set 5 ended 15-6. Carthage survives into the semifinal round in its first Elite 8 appearance. Carthage (34-6) will face No. 6 Christopher Newport (37-4) at 3:30 p.m. central tomorrow. Springfield ends its season at 34-3.

For the uninitiated, welcome to Carthage volleyball in 2011. Not many teams in the country prey on momentum and experience so many confidence shifts like Carthage does. All teams are streaky to a certain extent, but few teams have the highs and lows of the Lady Reds. When they’re on, few teams can beat them. When they’re off, it seemingly takes 10 points to get it back. Those peaks and valleys were on display today, when there were just enough flashes of brilliance to offset their elongated passing, setting and hitting funks.

Springfield senior First-Team All-American Lauren Torvi had a role in Carthage’s streaky play. The 6-foot-4-inch middle appeared to get in the Carthage hitters’ heads with her blocking and hitting in the early going. In an effort to avoid Torvi after the early resistance, the Lady Reds tried to craft perfect shots. And Carthage was far from perfect, resulting in 22 attack errors in the first two sets.

Hitting at Torvi didn’t work. Even when Carthage found a seam, Springfield All-American libero Itza Nieves was there to scoop up the remainder. Shaping perfect line shots didn’t work. Carthage senior All-America setter Drewann Pancratz going over on two worked. The sporadic on-two two-handed shots to the belly of the Springfield defense tempered the Springfield block in the middle sets, provided a spark and got the Lady Reds back on track.

After the teams found their tempos after two raggedy sets, the match was a coin flip. Carthage fed its star seniors: Third Team All-American outsides Michelle Madeja and Lauren Dembkowski, and middle Cindy Cavanagh. Springfield fed its leaders Torvi and outside Tessa Smolinski, an Honorable Mention All-America and this year’s winner of the Elite 89 award, which recognizes the player at the championships with the highest grade point average. In the end, the Pride’s lackluster passing in Set 5 proved to be the deciding factor. Springfield battled with some tremendous digs in the latter stages, but the Carthage attack was relentless as the Lady Reds had 11 kills and hit .435 in Set 5. Springfield answered with two kills and hit .000 in the last set.

Madeja led Carthage with 20 kills and 17 digs. Cavanagh went 19-3-31. Dembkowski had 14 kills and 23 digs. Lady Red senior middle Jordan Burkholder added a 9-0-16 line for good measure. Pancratz had 48 assists, 16 digs and five kills.

Torvi proved her All-America status by going 22-2-46 with five blocks. Fellow All-America Nieves had a solid night passing and finished with 33 digs, many of the spectacular variety despite playing with her left upper leg heavily bandaged. Smolinski had 18 kills and 11 digs.

No. 4 Eastern 3, No. 11 St. Thomas 0. In its first Elite 8 appearance, Eastern (36-2) advanced to face Wittenberg (35-3) tomorrow at 6 p.m. central. St. Thomas ended its season at 32-5.

It’s not as though St. Thomas throws the best block you’ll ever see, nor does Eastern for that matter. But I thought Eastern senior First Team All-America Maria Horning showed why she is arguably the best setter in the country at the D-III level. Horning gave her teammates numerous one-up and none-up nets, leading the Eagles to a stellar 51-kill, .311-hitting-percentage offensive barrage. She was setting dimes on balls that few other D-III setters even attempt.

Benefiting from Horning’s play were sophomore Honorable Mention All-America Kearby Benak and senior First Teamer Courtney Reinhold, who both finished with a match-high 15 kills. Sophomore middle Katrina Pisch went 8-0-16. But my game ball goes to Horning for her masterful all-around performance that included 45 assists.

After regrouping from a bout of nervousness at the opening bell, the heavyweight battle befitting a national quarterfinal was on. The Eagles and Tommies were bombing hitting-line kills at each other until the judges’ cards said Eastern won a split decision, 26-24.

The Tommies weren’t up to Eastern’s level in the final two sets. St. Thomas played well enough to beat most teams in the nation, but not Eastern. Not today. That side was dialed in. The Eastern offense wasn’t the only thing clicking; the Eagles also had their digging shoes on. Eastern popped up some of the Tommies’ best efforts, sometimes when St. Thomas was crushing at a free net. Eagle libero Kelly Groff had a match-high 15 digs. Reinhold contributed 14 digs. Benak finished off her double-double with 11 digs.

AVCA Freshman of the Year Kelly Foley led St. Thomas with 10 kills, most of which came in the opening set. Tommie sophomore middle Paige Brimeyer went 7-0-17. Senior All-America setter Ashley Maher had 30 assists. Junior All-America libero had Kaitlain Wachter 14 digs. Freshman outside Jill Greenfield had eight kills, 11 digs and five aces.

The Tommies could be back next year considering it loses just three seniors. Those three are an All-America setter and two key cogs in the offense, but tonight St. Thomas lost seven senior after last season, and this year the Toms started two freshmen and two sophomores with a junior All-American libero.

No. 5 Wittenberg 3, No. 17 Cal Lutheran 0. Wittenberg (35-3) advances to the semifinals to face No. 4 Eastern (36-2) tomorrow at 6 p.m. central. Cal Lutheran ended its season at 29-7.

It’s matches like tonight’s that made me think Wittenberg was the team to beat in St. Louis. Cal Lutheran didn’t play its best match on either side of the service phase of the game, but the Regals ran into a buzzsaw tonight. UPDATE:In an apt coincidence, CLU head coach Kellee Roesel said in her post-match presser that her team “ran into a buzzsaw tonight.”

The Tigers run two setters with distinct styles, assisting an array of talented hitters with wide skill sets who can crush from anywhere on the court, so opponents can’t pick their poison. That’s the headache you incur if you’re fortunate enough to get a point. Most of the time you’ll have to earn those tallies because the Tigers don’t beat themselves very often. Wittenberg had two attack errors all match, both by the same player. Two errors?

Wittenberg also uses the service line as a weapon, perhaps more so than the other quarterfinalists. Get a good pass off of the Tiger service pressure and you have to deal with the block, which is rarely without four hands over the net. Get one over or through the block and you have to deal with one of the best liberos in the country, Third Team All-America Christina Gilene.

Add it up and sprinkle in the fact that Wittenberg also has one of the best coaches in Paco Labrador, and it’s a tall order to knock off this Tigers squad.

Cal Lutheran gave it a go, and the Regals didn’t necessarily have to play perfect volleyball to win. But they had to play better than they did, especially with ball control. The task of downing the favored Tigers is improbable when they take care of their side of the net.

Wittenberg hit a robust .451 with six players getting between three and 10 kills. Feeding the talented hitting corps were setters Hallie Donathan and Meghan Vodopich, who finished with 16 assists apiece. Vodopich added four aces. All of the Tiger hitters excelled, but the anointed stars among stars were stars. Senior Second Team All-American middle Katie Sumner went 8-0-18. Senior Third Team All-American outside Kimmie Dyer went 10-0-18 with 10 digs. Gilene had a match-high 19 digs.

Freshman Honorable Mention All-American Kylie McLogan led Cal Lutheran with eight kills. Senior opposite Casy Mcwhirk added seven kills. Regals junior All-American middle Shannon Pearson was held to five kills, and junior First Team All-American Jackie Russell had just 25 assists and eight digs.

-Ricky Nelson