Northfield, Minn. – Beth Freeman (Jr./Richfield, Minn.) tallied 10 kills and four blocks and Danielle Hargreaves (Fy./Brandon, Manitoba/Vincent Massey Collegiate) added nine kills, 15 digs and three blocks as Carleton College swept visiting St. Mary's University, 30-23, 33-31, 30-17 in the MIAC Playoff quarterfinals.
The win propelled Carleton (19-7) into the semifinals on Thursday against top seed the University of St. Thomas. The win allowed Carleton to match its highest win total since the 1995 season. The other semifinal will put second seed Concordia College, Moorhead, against third-seeded Bethel College. The Royals knocked off six seed the College of St. Benedict in the other quarterfinal match, 27-30, 30-22, 30-13, 30-27.
Tracy Koertgen paced the Cardinals (21-11) with 11 kills, 12 digs and two blocks.
Katie Freeman (Jr./Richfield, Minn.) added nine kills and 20 digs for the Knights and Lizzy Erickson (Sr./Faribault, Minn./Bethlehem Academy) added eight kills and six aces.
Sarah Barrow (Jr./Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek) chipped in with nine kills and three blocks. Katie Haldy (Sr./Broomfield, Colo.) led the team with 24 assists and Jamie Lykken (So./Edina, Minn.) led all players with 21 digs from her libero position.
The Cardinals took an early 14-9 lead in game one, but after Carleton head coach Heidi Luehmann Jaynes took a timeout, the Knights reeled off five consecutive points to even the match at 14-14, as Hargreaves and Barrow tallied kills during the rally. The game was tied at 19-all before Carleton took control, outscoring SMU 11-4 to close out the game. Zoe Catsiff (So./Cheney, Wash.) served an ace to make it 28-22, and the Knights closed out game one on kills by Alivia Bryan (So./Eugene, Ore./Churchill) and Erickson.
In game two, Carleton raced to a 9-2 lead, but the Cardinals responded by scoring 10 straight points. The Knights stemmed the tide with a Hargreaves kill and Bryan and Erickson block. It appeared Carleton would take control late in the game when they rallied with four straight points to pull ahead at 29-27, with Erickson and Hargreaves tallying kills during the mini-rally. The Cardinals pulled in front and had a chance to take game two on two different occasions, but Carleton fought both game points off and took the game on an Erickson kill, a SMU error and an Erickson ace.
Game three was all Knights from beginning to end. Carleton raced to a 7-0 lead, extended it to 18-8 and closed the match out on another Erickson ace.
"We are playing with such confidence right now," Jaynes said afterward. "We talk about it so much that you wait for that moment of enlightenment, and it's really come in the last week, starting with the wins over Gustavus and St. Mary's in the regular season."
Five players tallied eight or more kills, making it tough on the St. Mary's defense to key in on specific players. "I think we were passing extremely well tonight," Jaynes said. Spreading the ball around is by design, according to Jaynes. "We really have become the type of team where you can't key in on one person. We feel very confident being able to set any of our hitters."
The win allowed the Knights' record-setting season to continue. Carleton ended the conference regular season tied for third, marking the second-best MIAC finish in program history. Only the 1985 squad posted a better finish, going 18-4 to place second in the only year the conference schedule featured a double round robin format.
The 2003 season marks the culmination of a remarkable turnaround for the program under head coach Heidi Luehmann Jaynes. In the three seasons prior to her arrival in 1999, the Knights won only 10 total matches, two in MIAC play. The Knights won only two MIAC games in Jaynes' first two seasons, but steadily increased their win total over the next three seasons. Carleton is 50-28 over the last three seasons for a .641 winning percentage, compared to the Knights' 10-74 mark in the three seasons prior to Jaynes' arrival at Carleton. Carleton has posted three consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1985-87. With 62 career wins Jaynes ranks second on Carleton's all-time volleyball win list. She's only the third coach in program history to lead the team to three straight winning seasons.
