ATLANTA – It had been 16 years since Claremont-Mudd-Scripps made an NCAA postseason appearance and won a match in the tournament. CMS ended the drought, defeating Thomas More in an opening-round match of the NCAA Division III Atlanta Regional at Emory University.
CMS raised its overall record to 25-6 following a 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-16) decision against Thomas More, who closed out their season with a 24-6 record. With the win, the team set a C-M-S volleyball program record with 25 wins. The previous record of 24 wins was set back in 1985.
The Athenas never trailed in the match and held Thomas More to an attack percentage of .019 (23-21—108) while finishing with a .220 (41-17—109) of its own. CMS had a 57-42 edge in digs while Thomas More posted a 5-2 margin in total blocks.
Leading the CMS offensive attack was freshman Nicole Kerkhof with a match-high 18 kills. Kerkhoff, who hit .400 for the contest (18-4 -- 35), also contributed 10 digs. Freshman Quinn Morrison and sophomore Audrey Breitwieser each finished with eight successful attack attempts. Junior Megan Coleman spearheaded the defensive play for CMS by topping all players with 27 digs.
