Undefeated Conference Record Gives Carthage CCIW Volleyball Title

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The Carthage Lady Reds, with a 30-25, 30-28, 30-24 win at Elmhurst Tuesday night, earned the outright College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin volleyball title, finishing the conference portion of its 2005 season at 7-0.

Carthage will be the No. 1 seed during the play-in round on Nov. 1, looking to earn a spot in the four-team CCIW Volleyball Tournament, which is scheduled for Nov. 4-5. The top seed from Tuesday night's play-in round will host the tournament with two matches Friday night and the final match on Saturday.

The championship was the Lady Reds' first outright title since 1993. In addition, Carthage extended its regular season conference game winning streak to 16, dating back to 2003.

Under the new volleyball championship format, Carthage earned the conference title with its 7-0 regular season record, but the winner of the conference tournament will be the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.

Millikin at 6-1 and Elmhurst at 5-2 have already earned the No. 2 and No.3 seeds for the conference tournament, with the other five yet to be determined.

Carthage will look to build on the momentum of winning a conference championship, as well as add more wins to its overall record of 20-3. The Lady Reds will host their own volleyball tournament Oct. 21-22, and will travel to Wittenberg, Ohio Oct. 28-29 for the last tournament of the regular season, sandwiched in by a road game against Lake Forest on Oct. 25, and at home against University of Chicago on Oct. 27.