The Carthage women’s volleyball team is certainly in postseason form.

The Reds swept their second opponent in two days in overpowering 22nd-ranked Nebraska Wesleyan 25-13, 28-26, 25-19 in a semifinal match of the Central Regional Championship Friday in St. Louis.

Carthage, ranked eighth in the final regular season American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division-3 poll, advanced to the regional championship for the third straight year. The Reds will face fourth-ranked Washington (Mo.) at 7 tonight for a spot in the eight-team NCAA championship round Nov. 19-21 in University Heights, Ohio.

After pummeling Simpson (Iowa) in Thursday’s regional opener, Carthage picked up right where it left off against the Prairie Wolves (18-12). Led by the strong serving of opposite-hitter Rachel Swoboda, the Reds rolled to an early 12-1 run in building a 13-4 lead in Game 1.

“I’d like to say I was surprised by the 12-1 run in the first set, but I really wasn’t,” Carthage coach Leanne Ulmer said. “We came out to play. It was impressive. We played great defense and I think our serving got them off-balance in the beginning.”

Game 2 was clearly the pivotal point of the match. Carthage overcame a 23-19 deficit and eventually fought off game point with Nebraska Wesleyan leading 26-25. Carthage tied it 26-26 before Cindy Cavanagh delivered back-to-back kills in giving the Reds a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

“When we got down 23-19, I was thinking ‘Let’s turn this around,’” Ulmer said. “The girls put their selves where they were supposed to go and we put some pressure on them. After the first set, we knew it was going to be a battle so that win in the second set was probably the key to winning the match.”

Carthage (33-5) built a 19-13 lead in Game 3 and sealed the match in winning the final four points,.

Cavanagh finished with a match-high 12 kills and hit .308, while Michelle Madeja had 11 kills. Lauren Dembkowski tallied 10 kills and hit .235. Libero Katie Lundgren totaled 31 digs.

“We all have a lot of confidence in each other and in ourselves to get the job done,” Lundgren said. “We keep pushing and we don’t give up. We back each other up. If one person doesn’t get the perfect pass, we try to adjust and make things better for all of us.”

Compiled by Jeffrey Zampanti