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GRINNELL, Iowa – Cornell College will host the 2015 Midwest Conference Tournament for the fourth straight year on Nov. 6 and 7 with Ripon College, St. Norbert College and Carroll University also securing berths in the four-team tournament.
Tournament Page
The first semifinal on Friday afternoon will feature archrivals Ripon College and St. Norbert College. The Red Hawks earned the No. 2 seed after completing the MWC regular season with a 9-1 record with an overall record of 12-12. The Green Knights earned the No. 3 seed after finishing 8-2 in league play and 13-17 overall.
Ripon has defeated St. Norbert twice so far in 2015. The Red Hawks scored a 3-0 sweep at the Red Hawk Invitational on Sept. 19 and then traveled to De Pere ten days later and squeaked out a 3-2 victory over the Green Knights. Allison Barnes and Katie Berrell played key roles in Ripon’s two victories. Berrell had 32 kills in the two matches, while Barnes produced 27. Setter Abbi Williamson will also play a large role in the Red Hawks tournament chances. The junior already has the most assists in Ripon history and leads the league in 10.01 assists per set.
The Green Knights have reached the title match for seven consecutive years and have won a record 12 conference titles. Halie Ferry has been St. Norbert’s best player in 2015. The freshman has pounded 325 kills which is good for second in the MWC. She is also second on the team with 279 digs and third on the club with 26 blocks. Aubree Antosch leads the defensive effort in the back row while Hannah Johnshoy provides some more power at the net.
The Rams will take on the Pioneers in the other semifinal. Cornell suffered its first conference since rejoining the conference prior to the 2012 season when it lost at St. Norbert to open the league slate, but rallied to win nine straight MWC matches and its fourth straight conference title. The Rams dispatched Carroll, 3-1, back on October 10. Diamond Boyd, Mariah Brandly and Lauren Ahart all notched double digit kills as the Rams hit .305 for the match. Boyd is fourth in the league with 3.23 kills per set this season, while Ahart was named the Defensive Performer of the Week on Tuesday. Defensively, Brandly, Julie Ward and Ellie Scripps have all dug out over 200 balls and Ahart is just one of two players in the MWC with over 100 blocks.
Carroll went 7-3 in the league with its only losses coming to the top three seeds. The Pioneers nearly won at St. Norbert on Saturday before falling in a five-set thriller (20-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-12, 14-16). Kelly Sloyan has led the way this season offensively for Carroll with 257 kills and was named the Offensive Performer of the Week on Tuesday. Caitlin Dolan and Dana Voltolina also give the fourth seed provide options for Carroll at the net. Defensively, Kate Pringle leads the back row with 417 digs and Dolan has 62 blocks at the net.
The winners of the two semifinals will meet at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday for the Midwest Conference Tournament Championship and the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.