RV Carthage 3, No. 13 Wis-Platteville 0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-16)
KENOSHA, Wis. - The Carthage women's volleyball team hosted the No. 13 Wis-Platteville Pioneers in Tarble Arena on Friday evening to kick-off the Carthage Invite and the 2025 home schedule. The Firebirds opened the tournament with a statement victory, earning a win against the highest ranked opponent the Firebirds have defeated since 2019.



The Firebirds got off to a hot start in the opening set, building a 5-1 lead with three services aces from Jenna Damon. The Pioneers worked their way back within four points before Carthage went on a 3-0 run, forcing a Platteville timeout at 17-10. The timeout proved beneficial for the Pioneers as a 3-0 run brought the score to 17-13. The Firebirds recovered well, utilizing an 8-3 run to end the set with a 25-16 win over their ranked opponent. The Firebirds registered 11 kills in the set on a .267 hitting percentage, while tallying five service aces and four blocks.

The Firebirds opened the second set strong with an early 5-2 lead, but the Pioneers quickly recovered and built a lead that forced Head Coach Leanne Ulmer to use both of the Firebirds timeouts by the time the score reached 15-7 in favor of the Pioneers. Coach Ulmer's second timeout found an early pay-off, as the Firebirds went on a 4-1 run, bringing the score to 16-11 and forcing a timeout for Wis-Platteville. The Firebirds continued to rally after the timeout with two more points on a 7-0 run with Madilyn Danielson at the service line. Another 4-2 run for Carthage would bring the Firebirds back within a point of tying the game at 18-17 and forced the final timeout of the set from the Pioneers. The two squads traded points out of the timeout until a pair of kills from Kristina Manojlovic and Ava Dettwiler gave the Firebirds a 21-19 lead. The Firebirds used a 5-3 run to close out the set with a 25-23 victory.

The two teams traded points to start the third set, with the Firebirds holding a slim 9-7 lead early. The Firebirds offense found the momentum, going on a 6-1 run and jumping out to a 15-8 lead. A double block from Emma Crow and Hailey Wierzgac forced the Pioneers to burn their final timeout, while Coach Ulmer still held on to both of Carthage's. The Pioneers rallied out of the timeout, going on a 5-1 run to cut the Firebirds lead to 17-13. The Firebirds built the lead to 21-15 on a right-handed tip kill from Katie Boston, and a kill from Crow brought the Firebirds within three points of a win. A block from Crow and Boston, as well as a kill from . With the Carthage faithful on their feet, Danielson fired a service ace past the back row defenders to cap off the 3-0 sweep over Wis-Platteville.


 

• Kristina Manojlovic - 13 kills, 4 blocks
• Jenna Damon -  4 services aces, 9 digs
• Katie Boston - 8 kills, 5 blocks
• Ava Dettwiler - 8 kills, 14 assists, 12 digs

The Firebirds (6-1) return to action on Saturday, Sept 13 as the squad concludes the Carthage Invite with games against Colorado College at noon and Concordia (Wis.) at 4 p.m. in Tarble Arena. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.