IPFW Makes Quick Work of Carthage, 3-0
Kenosha, WI - The sharp play of freshman Elon Fyfield and junior Darryl Shank paced an efficient IPFW offensive attack, hitting .307 en route to a three-set win over the Carthage College Redmen, 30-28, 30-25, 30-22.
IPFW opened the first set by jumping out to an early 6-3 advantage, a lead that would grow to as many as four at 20-16. A Mastodon service error sparked a five-point Redmen run, giving the home squad the lead at 21-20. Trailing by two at 27-25, the Mastodon arms awakened with a three-point run of their own to take the late 28-27 lead. Carthage knotted the set at 28, but back-to-back kills by Jonathan Meyer and Darryl Shank closed the first set in favor of the 'Dons, 30-28.
The neck-and-neck play continued into the second stanza as well. IPFW took their first and final lead of the set at 3-2 - a lead they would not surrender again throughout the set. After taking a four-point lead at 16-12, Carthage staged a late run to cut the IPFW lead to one at 25-24, but the Mastodon line-up was too much. A powerful block by Darryl Shank, Corey Frain and Dan Mader closed out the second set in favor of the 'Dons, 30-25.
The third set began in favor of the Redmen. Carthage jumped out to a commanding 15-11 lead to open the frame. The home squad built their lead to 19-16 before a six-point IPFW run, highlighted by five Carthage attack errors. With the lead and confidence in hand, the 'Dons cruised through the remainder of the set, downing the Redmen in convincing fashion, 30-22.
Elon Fyfield posted 17 kills on just 28 attacks (3 errors, .500 hitting percentage) to lead the IPFW offense. Darryl Shank added 15 to build on his team lead in the category. Libero Shaun Dryden totaled 15 digs and Dan Mader posted assists on 46 of IPFW's 54 kills on the night.
The three-set sweep pushes the IPFW overall record to 9-11 and avenges an early season loss for the 'Dons. The loss drops the Redmen, ranked 12th in the latest Division III rankings, to 17-9 overall. IPFW continues their road trip tomorrow night as they visit MIVA-leader Loyola for an 8 p.m. matchup in Chicago.
