Carthage Regional: Day 1 sights and sounds

First of all, the teams that I thought would win did win. I thought UW-Whitewater would take a set, but today was rather conventional overall. It was nice to meet a handful of you. Thanks for stopping by for a chat and for the kind words. Good, vocal crowds today, especially those rooting for UW-Platteville, Wartburg, Beloit and, of course, homestanding Carthage. In fact the Carthage/Oshkosh match drew 1,200.

Here were my highlights and observations. Please share some of your own.

Wartburg 3, UW-Whitewater 0 Yes, I thought Wartburg would win. If you remember my post after the UW Oshkosh Invite, you know that I liked that team. I figured if the Knights made it, they could make a nice run as long as they played their opponent and not a uniform. Wartburg is a young team afterall (no seniors, three healthy juniors).

But it was Whitewater that folded in the end. It seemed like the Warhawks quit swinging after the Wartburg block roofed a couple of 2-balls, and the UWW passes didn’t allow many opportunities for middle Katy Krajnak (her 10-1-16 line proves that point). During several stretches it was basically Whitewater All-American Caitlin Hogan vs. Wartburg. Wartburg’s quick and diverse offense bypassed any hint of a Whitewater block. WC hit at a lot of one- and none-up nets thanks to fantastic passing and setting. The Knights simply beat the Warhawks in every facet of the game. No, this wasn’t an upset.

Washington 3, Beloit 0 The Bucs proved several times why the are ranked sixth in the country in digs/set. That team can rally. The problem for Beloit is that WashU isn’t shabby at that phase either.

You know those old baseball stories that sound like pure hyperbole? Pepper Martin was so fast he could … Christy Matthewson’s fadeaway was so unhittable it … Well, WashU’s Meghan Byrne made me think of a variation of Ted Williams hyperbolic lore. The ball just sounds different when she’s on the attack. Hate to jinx it, but if Byrne stays healthy should could win multiple national Player of the Year awards, especially if she starts playing more rotations.

The BC receive didn’t have much of an answer for Bears DS Tricia Brandt. It seemed like the sets stopped whenever Brandt served.

Beloit outside Mary Parker can play for anyone, but WashU looked like a No. 1 seed. The Bears were nearly flawless.

UW-Platteville 3, Dominican 0 Melissa. Hillebrand. Put. On. A. Show. My goodness. Is 17-0-19 any good? Ridiculous is more like it.

While Platteville was bombing away and Dominican still without top htting option Jacy Lawrence, the Stars needed a spark. Freshman outside Claire Dezelski provided that spark with several badly needed momentum-swinging kills, but there are not many teams in the country that could have duked it out with UWP today. The Kaisers, Briana and Emily, got a lot of touches, the back row cleaned up and setter Ali Sikic moved it around like she usually does. The top five options had between 14 and 22 attempts.

Dominican freshman DS Lauren Reiniger turned in my play of the day with a spinning kick dig in Set 2. DU lost the point, but I’m sure that one will be a topic on the bus ride home. It had Tarble Arena buzzing for a couple of minutes.

Carthage 3, UW Oshkosh 0 A mismatch on paper. An eventual mismatch in reality. Oshkosh had struggled all season against teams with great blocks (See: Elmhurst). Carthage has a great block. Always has. Tonight the Lady Reds tallied 11 stuffs and, much like Whitewater had Hogan against the world, Oshkosh only had sophomore outside Aleisha Bagin at the gunfight. Bagin had 16 of UWO’s 26 kills. It only seemed like a greater percentage while watching it without the aid of stats. It also didn’t help that National Player of the Year Christina Cahoon was once again in street clothes with an injury.

To my eyes the turning point came a third of the way through Set 2, when Bagin was sitting out a rotation with the Titans holding a decent lead. That lead quickly evaporated after UWO failed to sideout.

The Carthage block was the headliner for me. The 11 blocks are outstanding, but that’s not counting the number of touches and easy digs that led to booming kills from Michelle Madeja, Jordan Burkholder and Cindy Cavanagh. The Lady Reds looked sharp and left no doubt as to who was the better team. Out-hitting your opponent .343 to .048 doesn’t leave room for doubt.

-Ricky Nelson