No. 25 Carthage 3, Augsburg 0 (25-21, 25-11, 25-22)
Wartburg 3, No. 25 Carthage 2 (25-23, 19-25, 15-25, 25-19, 15-11)
WAVERLY, Iowa - The No. 25 Carthage women's volleyball team played a pair of matches on Friday evening as part of the Wartburg Invite. After earning the 3-0 sweep in a bounce-back win against Augsburg, the Firebirds came up short against the hosting Wartburg Knights in a five-set battle.
VS AUGSBURG
Carthage and Augsburg traded points early in the first set, with six ties before the Firebirds created separation. A pair of kills from Emma Crow and an ace from Jenna Damon pushed the Firebirds in front, and a late block from Hailey Wierzgac sealed a 25-21 win. The Firebirds tallied 15 kills in the opener while limiting Augsburg to a .265 hitting percentage.
The second set was all Firebirds. Carthage raced out to a 13-4 lead thanks to back-to-back aces from Ava Dettwiler and three straight from Madilyn Danielson. Kristina Manojlovic and Crow added timely kills as the Firebirds cruised to a 25-11 victory, holding Augsburg to just five kills and a -.074 hitting percentage in the frame.
The Auggies showed resilience in the third set, forcing 10 ties and four lead changes. Manojlovic powered Carthage down the stretch with three of her team-high 11 kills, while Crow continued her efficient night, hitting .700 overall. Dettwiler's steady playmaking and a final Augsburg miscue capped a 25-22 win and the sweep.
VS WARTBURG
Wartburg claimed the opening frame 25-23 after pulling away late in a tightly contested set. Manojlovic kept Carthage close with five early kills, but a late Wartburg push closed out the set in their favor.
The Firebirds responded in the second, stringing together a 12-6 run midway through the frame behind steady setting from Dettwiler and strong back-row defense from Damon. Carthage hit .281 in the set and evened the match with a 25-19 victory.
Carthage carried that momentum into the third, their most dominant frame of the evening. Manojlovic and Danielson combined for nine kills, while Dettwiler guided the offense to a blistering .370 efficiency. A 7-1 surge gave the Firebirds a double-digit cushion as they rolled to a 25-15 win and a 2–1 match lead.
Wartburg countered in the fourth, capitalizing on Firebird miscues to seize control early. Despite four blocks from Wierzgac in the set, the Knights out-hit Carthage .296 to .028 and forced a decisive fifth with a 25-19 finish.
The final frame remained tight until 10-10, when Wartburg created separation with key defensive plays and timely kills. Carthage was held to a -.048 hitting percentage in the set, and the Knights secured the match with a 15-12 result.
COMBINED STATS
"[We] started out with a good outing against Augsburg," said Head Coach
Leanne Ulmer. "It was good to get off the bus and play an efficient match. Against the home team Wartburg, we tussled in the first set but weren't able to finish it then controlled the next two sets. We made too many unforced errors in set 4 and some of that carried over into the 5th set. Tough loss but you have to finish off a team on the road when you have the chance. Back up tomorrow against a good Cornell team."
The Firebirds (10-3) return to action on Saturday, Sept. 27 in Waverly, Iowa to take on Cornell College at 12 p.m. as the final match for the program at the Wartburg Invite. 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.
