Cornell 3, No. 25 Carthage 2 (23-25, 25-22, 13-25, 25-22, 15-9)
WAVERLY, Iowa - The No. 25 Carthage women's volleyball team battled through five sets against Cornell College on Saturday afternoon at the Wartburg Invite, but the Firebirds came up just short in a 3-2 setback inside Levick Arena. 



The Firebirds came out strong in the opening set, building an early cushion behind kills from Kristina Manojlovic and Ava Dettwiler before holding off a late Cornell push to take it 25-23. Carthage looked poised to go up 2-0, but the Rams used timely serving and a 6-2 run to close out the second, evening the match with a 25-22 decision.

Carthage responded emphatically in the third, controlling play from the service line and at the net. Manojlovic and Katie Boston powered the offense while the Firebirds defense forced Cornell into a negative hitting percentage, cruising to a 25-13 win.

The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair, with 10 ties and five lead changes. Cornell managed to string together late points to edge the Firebirds, 25-22, sending the match to a decisive fifth frame. In the finale, Carthage found itself on the defensive early after a 4-0 Cornell run and could not recover, falling 15-9.

• Kristina Manojlovic* – 20 kills, 11 digs, 1 block assist
• Ava Dettwiler – 10 kills, 20 assists, 13 digs, 2 block assists
• Katie Boston – 7 kills, 5 blocks
• Jenna Damon – 22 digs, 6 assists, 2 service aces
• Tatum Kebisek – 21 assists, 8 digs, 2 aces
• Hailey Wierzgac – 7 kills, 3 blocks

*Named to the All-Tournament Team



"We had a up and down performance today," said Head Coach Leanne Ulmer. "We were able to go up 2 sets to 1 with a strong offense led by Tina [Manojlovic] and Hailey [Wierzgac].  Jenna [Damon], Madi [Danielson] and Tina were passing well and give our setters Ava [Dettwiler] and Tatum [Kebisek]. Cornell fought back in the fourth and we weren't able to get a run from the service line and our offense struggled. In the fifth set we got behind early and struggled to get the offense going. We have a big week of non-conference matches against some tough competition so we will regroup and push to get better!"



The Firebirds (10-4) return to Tarble Arena on Tuesday, Sept. 30 for the Carthage Triangular, where they will face No. 3 Wis-Oshkosh at 3 p.m. and Edgewood (RV) at 7 p.m. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.