North Central 3, No. 25 Carthage 1 (25-14, 23-25, 26-24, 25-19)
NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The No. 25 Carthage women's volleyball team hit the road on Wednesday to take on the North Central College (Ill.) Cardinals in Gregory Arena. After a slow first set for the Firebirds, the team rallied to take the second set. The Cardinals then controlled the momentum for the next two sets to hand the Firebirds a loss on the road.



The Cardinals jumped out in front early to a 10-3 lead in the opening set. The Firebirds rallied back quickly with a kill from Ava Dettwiler highlighting a 5-0 run to bring the score to 10-8 in favor of the Cardinals. The Cardinals then took full control of the momentum, using a 9-1 run to build a lead that would end in a 25-14 victory for the Cardinals in Set 1

The Firebirds bounced back in the second set by taking an early 7-2 lead that was fueled by kills from Dettwiler, Macy Wente, and Hailey Wierzgac. The Cardinals rallied back with a 9-4 run to tie the set at 11-11. The two squads traded points until the Cardinals led 23-22. A block from Wierzgac tied the game and a bad set by the Cardinals gave the Firebirds a 24-23 lead. A block from Kristina Manojlovic secured the set victory as the Firebirds defeated the Cardinals 25-23, tying the match at 1-1.

A pair of kills from Wente, an ace from Jenna Damon, and a kill from Manojlovic would give the Firebirds an early 4-1 lead in the third set. The Cardinals would quickly rally to tie the set at 5-5, before jumping out to a 20-14 lead. A pair of service errors for the Cardinals and an ace from Dettwiler began to cut into the deficit, as a kill from Katie Boston and a ball handling error for the Cardinals made it a 21-18 game. The Cardinals registered a pair of points to take a 23-18 lead. A kill from Manojlovic and an ace from Damon kicked off a 6-1 run to tie the game at 24-24. The Cardinals utilized a pair of kills to win the set 26-24 and take a 2-1 lead on the match.

Set 4 began with a 4-1 run for the Cardinals that forced an early Carthage timeout.The Firebirds rallied back with Tatum Kebisek serving the Firebirds to a 7-5 lead. The two teams then traded points until the score was tied at 17-17. The Cardinals rallied off a pair of points to jump ahead 19-17, forcing the final timeout of the set from the Firebirds.The timeout proved beneficial as a service error coming out of the break brought the Firebirds back within one point of the lead and a Cardinals attacking error tied the set once again at 19-19. A service error for the Firebirds and a trio of kills for the Cardinals put the Firebirds in a 23-19 deficit. A service ace brought the Cardinals to match point, and a kill sealed the deal as North Central won the set 25-19 and claimed the match 3-1.


 

• Kristina Manojlovic - 12 kills, 8 digs
• Ava Dettwiler - 18 assists, 12 digs, 6 kills
• Tatum Kebisek - 12 assists, 3 service aces

"Tough night on the road tonight!" said Head Coach Leanne Ulmer. "I thought North Central  made us uncomfortable with their serving and middle attack.  We struggled in the serve and  pass game and that usually doesn't end well and it didn't. Nothing comes easy in the CCIW.  We will put this behind us and get ready for some tough opponents this weekend."



The Firebirds (9-2) return to action on Friday, Sept 26 as the team kicks off the Wartburg Invite with a pair of matches against Augsburg at 5 p.m. and Wartburg at 7:30 p.m. Carthage women's volleyball returns to Tarble Arena on Tuesday, Sept. 30 for the Carthage Triangular with No. 3 Wis-Oshkosh and (RV) Edgewood. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.