Carthage 3, Earlham 1
HOLLAND, Mich. — Carthage picked up a 3-1 (25-23, 26-24, 20-25, 25-15) victory against Earlham on Friday afternoon at DeVos Fieldhouse as part of the Hope College Tournament.
With Friday's win, the Firebirds improved to 9-5 overall and 1-0 in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play.
Set 1: Carthage took control early, building an 8-3 lead before Earlham rallied to tie the set at 15-15. The Firebirds responded with a 4-0 run to take an 18-15 advantage, highlighted by an ace from
Kristina Manojlovic. Earlham eventually pulled even at 23-23, but a service error gave Carthage set point before
Emma Crow finished the opening set with a kill for a 25-23 victory.
Set 2: Earlham opened the second set with a 3-0 lead before Carthage fought back to tie the score at 8-8. The Firebirds continued to battle throughout the set, eventually pulling even at 20-20. After Earlham took a 24-22 lead, Carthage responded with four consecutive points to close the set. A kill from
Sofia Campos tied the score at 24-24 before consecutive Earlham attack errors gave the Firebirds a 26-24 victory.
Set 3: Earlham grabbed an early 4-2 lead and extended its advantage to 7-3. Carthage battled back within one at 7-6 before Earlham pushed its lead to 13-8. The Firebirds cut the deficit to 21-14 and later used a 4-0 run to pull within 24-20, but Earlham closed out the set on the next point to take a 25-20 victory and force a fourth set.
Set 4: Carthage jumped out to a 6-2 lead and continued to build its advantage throughout the final set. The Firebirds held a 10-5 lead before extending the margin to 17-9 following a kill from
Hailey Wierzgac. Carthage continued its strong play late in the set, scoring six of the final seven points to take a 25-15 victory and secure the four-set win.
Carthage hit .193 as a team in the four-set victory, while Earlham (4-9) was limited to .103 hitting on the afternoon.
The Firebirds also posted a dominant 14-3 advantage in total blocks and recorded six service aces. Carthage finished the match with 73 digs.
Manojlovic paced the Firebird offense with 14 kills, 17 digs and five block assists. Wierzgac added 11 kills on .500 hitting and nine block assists.
Crow tallied six kills and six block assists, while Macy Wente contributed four kills without an attack error and two block assists.
Della Walsh recorded 26 assists, 11 digs and two service aces, while Ava Dettwiler added 17 assists, 12 digs and one block. Grace Wenthold contributed eight digs, two assists and one service ace.
"We had to grind out a win tonight in Holland," said Head Coach Leanne Ulmer. "We struggled a bit with our serve and pass game but made some big plays when we needed to. Got ourselves in a big hole in set 3 but got some momentum in that set and carried it over into set 4. Our block got going and then our offense followed. Tina [Manojlovic], Hailey [Wierzgac] and Macy [Wente] had some clutch kills. Emma [Crow] and Hailey got some big stops at the net.
Carthage closes out the Hope College Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 26, against Bluffton at 10 a.m. EST and Hope at 2 p.m. EST. The Firebirds return home on Saturday, Oct. 3, against Wis.-Eau Claire. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.
