CHICAGO, Ill. - The Carthage College women's volleyball team fell to the No. 1 seed North Park in the finals of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament 3-1 Saturday night. 


 

• Final score: North Park 3 - Carthage 1
• Location: Chicago, Illinois - North Park Gymnasium
• Records: North Park 25-6, Carthage 18-13

• After falling behind 9-4 in the first set, Carthage orchestrated a comeback, securing six consecutive points, with Kaitie Rohe delivering a decisive kill.
• Despite the Vikings briefly extending their lead, Katie Boston's successful kill narrowed the deficit.
• Devinn Bell's well-executed kill maintained the margin at one, but North Park ultimately claimed the set with a score of 25-20.
• The Firebirds took control in the second set as Madilyn Danielson's ace propelled them ahead by five. 
• A combined block from Liv Carel and Boston later expanded the lead to six.
• Kaitie Rohe's series of kills secured a 25-20 victory in the set for Carthage.
• Moving into the third set, Kristina Manojlovic and Carel played pivotal roles, putting the visitors in control. 
• A Rohe kill and a combined block from Boston and Rohe contributed to an 18-14 advantage. However, North Park mounted a comeback, finishing the set with an 11-1 run and ultimately winning 25-19.
• In the fourth set, the Vikings started with an 8-3 lead, but another impactful kill from Rohe narrowed the gap to five. 
• Despite Rohe's efforts, North Park closed out the set with a 7-2 run, securing the victory.

• Kaitie Rohe led in kills with an impressive 17, setting a season-best record.
• Kristina Manojlovic followed closely with 12 kills.
• Devinn Bell contributed 36 assists, along with Jenna Damon securing 22 digs.
• Bell recorded 14 digs, while Aubree Bucheger added 13 for the Firebirds.
• Katie Boston demonstrated strength at the net with a season-best performance, registering eight total blocks during the contest. 

""It was a great atmosphere in the gym tonight. I thought we played really well through the first two and a half  sets. We were up 18-14 in the third then they made so plays and we were not able to recover. They put a lot of pressure on us in the fourth set with their serves. We came so far from where we started the season. It's tough to not get the chance to move on to the NCAA tournament but the team has everything they had.

A special thank you to our seniors, Leena Ajibola, Aubree Bucheger, Ashlyn Pahl, and Casey Hironomus. Thanks for all you did every day to make our program better!"