Carthage 3, No. 3 Wis-Eau Claire 2
KENOSHA, Wis. - The Carthage women's volleyball team rallied from a two-set deficit to defeat No. 3 Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 27-29, 17-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-13, on Saturday afternoon at Tarble Arena. It was the highest-ranked opponent the Firebirds have defeated since the team took down No. 2 UChicago in the 2019 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Tournament.
Set 1: Wis.-Eau Claire edged Carthage, 29-27, in a back-and-forth opening set that featured 15 ties and seven lead changes. The Firebirds held an 18-15 advantage after a pair of
Elise Webster service aces, and Carthage later led 22-20. The Blugolds answered to tie the set at 22-22, and the teams traded points deep into extra points before Wis.-Eau Claire secured the 29-27 victory.
Set 2: The Blugolds took a 25-17 second-set victory after turning a 5-5 tie into a 10-5 advantage. Carthage pulled within 17-12 and later 24-17, but Wis.-Eau Claire closed the set on the next point to take a 2-0 match lead.
Set 3: Carthage began its comeback with a 25-23 victory in a set that featured 15 ties and seven lead changes. Wis.-Eau Claire led 14-11 before the Firebirds scored three straight to tie the set. Carthage then used a 4-0 run to move from a 14-14 tie to a 17-14 lead. The Blugolds eventually tied the score at 18-18, but Carthage regained the advantage and reached set point at 24-23 before a Wis.-Eau Claire attack error gave the Firebirds the set.
Set 4: The Firebirds forced a decisive fifth set with a 25-20 win. The teams were tied 13-13 before Carthage scored three straight points, including consecutive kills by
Kristina Manojlovic, to take a 16-13 lead. Carthage maintained its advantage throughout the remainder of the set, with Manojlovic and
Hailey Wierzgac providing key kills down the stretch.
Emma Crow finished the set with a kill to give the Firebirds a 25-20 victory and even the match at two sets apiece.
Set 5: Carthage jumped out to an 8-2 lead and extended its advantage to 14-6 behind three straight kills to open the set and three consecutive Manojlovic kills during a 4-0 run. Wis.-Eau Claire rallied with seven consecutive points to cut the deficit to 14-13, but Crow answered with a kill from
Ava Dettwiler to give Carthage the 15-13 victory and complete the comeback.
Carthage (13-5, 2-0 CCIW) hit .239 as a team and finished with 65 kills, eight service aces and six total blocks. Wis.-Eau Claire (10-2, 2-0 WIAC) hit .287 and recorded 73 kills, 13 blocks and five aces. The match featured 44 ties and 18 lead changes.
Manojlovic led the Firebirds with 25 kills while hitting .358, adding 14 digs, two service aces and two blocks. Dettwiler finished with 43 assists, eight kills, 10 digs and two blocks, while Wierzgac recorded nine kills on a .294 hitting percentage and three blocks. Macy Wente added 11 kills, and Crow contributed eight kills, six digs, one ace and one block.
Carthage women's volleyball returns to action on Wednesday, Oct. 7 as the Firebirds return to conference play against North Central in Tarble Arena at 7 p.m. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.
