Millikin 3, Carthage 1
KENOSHA, Wis. - The Carthage women's volleyball team fell to Millikin in four sets on Wednesday night at Tarble Arena, dropping a 25-21, 15-25, 28-26, 25-22 decision in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) play. The Firebirds moved to 15-10 overall and 4-2 in conference play.
Carthage responded to dropping the opening set with a dominant second-set performance to even the match. However, Millikin edged the Firebirds in a closely contested third set before closing out the match in the fourth.
Set 1: Millikin took the opening set, 25-21, despite a competitive effort from the Firebirds. Carthage battled back from a four-point deficit and pulled within one at 17-16 following a kill from
Hailey Wierzgac. The Firebirds continued to fight behind kills from Wierzgac,
Kristina Manojlovic and
Emma Crow, but Millikin pulled away late to take the set.
Set 2: Carthage answered with a 25-15 victory to even the match at one set apiece. The Firebirds jumped out to an early lead and built an advantage behind strong serving and defensive pressure. Carthage continued to capitalize on Millikin's attack errors while getting kills from Wierzgac,
Taylor Baratta,
Ava Dettwiler and Manojlovic to even the match.
Set 3: The Firebirds battled through a back-and-forth third set before Millikin secured a 28-26 win. Carthage used kills from
Macy Wente, Dettwiler, Baratta and Manojlovic to stay within reach. The teams traded points late, tying the score at 24-24 and again at 26-26, but Millikin scored the final two points to take a two-sets-to-one advantage.
Set 4: Millikin closed out the match with a 25-22 victory. Carthage kept the set close behind kills from Crow, Wierzgac and Baratta, while Manojlovic contributed a service ace. The Firebirds remained within striking distance through the middle stages, but Millikin maintained its lead down the stretch to secure the four-set win.
Millikin hit .223 as a team and finished with 53 kills, nine service aces and seven total blocks. Carthage hit .169 and recorded 49 kills, 12 service aces and nine total blocks.
Manojlovic and Dettwiler led the Firebirds with 10 kills apiece. Dettwiler also recorded 23 assists, nine digs and two service aces. Wierzgac added eight kills while hitting .438 and contributed four total blocks. Baratta also finished with seven kills and four total blocks. Della Walsh tallied 20 assists, while Macy Wente led Carthage with 14 digs.
The Firebirds return to Tarble Arena on Saturday, Oct. 31 to host Carroll University at 6 p.m. The team will celebrate Senior Night prior to the game. Carthage Athletics is also promoting the Halloween night game as "Terror in Tarble." All students who wear a costume to the game will receive a prize courtesy of Carthage Dining. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.
