RV Carthage 3, North Park 1
CHICAGO, Ill. - The Carthage women's volleyball team earned a 25-23, 18-25, 25-16, 27-25 victory over North Park on Friday night at Carlson Gymnasium. The Firebirds improved to 15-6 overall and 4-0 in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play with the win.
Set 1: Carthage claimed a 25-23 victory in a competitive opening set. The Firebirds built an early 3-0 lead before North Park rallied to take a 6-5 advantage. The teams continued to trade points through the middle of the set, with the Vikings moving ahead 14-12. Carthage responded to tie the score at 15-15 and later built an 18-15 lead behind a pair of kills from
Kristina Manojlovic. The Firebirds extended their advantage to 24-17, but North Park rallied to pull within one at 24-23 before Carthage closed out the set, 25-23.
Set 2: North Park evened the match with a 25-18 win in the second set. The Firebirds took an early 5-3 lead following a run of kills from Manojlovic and
Hailey Wierzgac. Carthage maintained a narrow advantage before the Vikings tied the score at 10-10 and went on a scoring run to take control. North Park extended its lead to 14-10 and continued to pull away late, closing out the set to tie the match at one set apiece.
Set 3: Carthage responded with a dominant 25-16 win to regain the match lead. The Firebirds opened the set with six consecutive points, taking a 6-0 advantage behind strong serving and defensive play. North Park cut into the deficit, but Carthage maintained control throughout the frame. The Firebirds extended their lead to 18-11 on three consecutive points and reached set point at 24-16 before Wierzgac recorded a kill to secure the 25-16 victory.
Set 4: Carthage closed out the match with a hard-fought 27-25 win in the fourth set. The teams traded points early before North Park built a 12-9 advantage and later extended its lead to 17-13. The Firebirds responded with a four-point run to tie the score at 17-17, highlighted by kills from
Macy Wente and
Emma Crow. Carthage continued to battle through a back-and-forth finish, with the teams exchanging points late. After North Park tied the score at 25-25, the Firebirds secured the final two points on kills from
Ava Dettwiler and
Taylor Baratta to take the set, 27-25, and clinch the match.
Carthage hit .242 as a team and finished with 50 kills, five service aces and seven total blocks. North Park hit .211 and also recorded 50 kills, eight service aces and four total blocks.
Manojlovic led the Firebirds with 20 kills, eight digs and two service aces. Crow added 10 kills on a .391 hitting percentage, while Wierzgac finished with eight kills on a .615 hitting percentage and three total blocks. Ava Dettwiler recorded 31 assists, five kills and five digs, while Mina Reichert contributed 12 digs and a service ace. Grace Wenthold added 10 digs, and Taylor Baratta recorded three kills and one total block.
"Great CCIW Road win!" expressed Head Coach Leanne Ulmer. "I am very proud of how we were tough when we needed to be. Tina Manojlovic had a night with 20 kills and a great service run in set four to get us back in the game. Some clutch play from our middles, Taylor Baratta and Hailey Wierzgac and Emma Crow! Mina Reichert, Grace Wenthold and Ava McTeague came up big in the back row! Ava Dettwiler did a nice job running the offense. We will rest up this weekend and get ready to hit the road for a big CCIW match with IWU!"
Carthage women's volleyball returns to action Wednesday, Oct. 21, when the Firebirds travel to Bloomington, Ill., to face Illinois Wesleyan at 7 p.m. The Firebirds return to Tarble Arena on Oct. 28 to host Millikin University at 7 p.m. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.
