The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team traveled to Kenosha Wednesday night to play No. 19 ranked Carthage College.
 
The Warhawks (7-2) battled hard to earn a 25-22, 23-25, 25-18, 15-25, 15-10 victory over their ranked opponent.
 
In the first set, the two teams kept pace with one another, with the Warhawks maintaining a razor thin 13-12 edge halfway through.  The Warhawks slowly pulled away from their opponents, going on a 4-1 run and forcing a Carthage time out.  Carthage clawed back to a 21-21 tie later in the set, before the Warhawks put the set away with another 4-1 run.
 
The Warhawks found themselves down early in the second set, but climbed back into a 5-5 tie off of a quick 3-0 run.  The teams battled back and forth before the Warhawks went on a 3-0 run to take a 15-12 advantage.  The two teams found themselves interlocked at 21 apiece again before Carthage took control of the set to tie up the match.
 
In the third, the Warhawks started out with a 7-4 lead and maintained this advantage through the midway point of the set.  The Warhawks built on this lead with a 8-2 run to put themselves at 18-12 and effectively maintained their lead to the end of the set. 
 
Starting out the fourth set down 6-0, the Warhawks never got close and fell 25-15 to force a fifth set.  A trio of errors helped the Warhawks to a 5-0 run and an 8-3 lead in the decisive set.  Carthage closed in within 11-8, but the Warhawks kept their distance en route to a 15-10 victory.  
 
Junior middle hitter Ashton Doll (Lancaster, Wis./Lancaster) put together an impressive nine blocks and 10 kills on the evening, while junior outside hitter Rachel Butterfield (Milton, Wis./Milton) contributed six blocks and 10 kills as well.  Freshman outside hitter Emily Gillen (Richfield, Wis./Slinger) added in four blocks herself, a career high. 
 
Freshman setter KellyAnn Sotiros (New Berlin, Wis./West Allis Hale) recorded a career-high 26 assists on the evening.  Freshman outside hitter Erin McNeil (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) had a team-leading 17 kills on top of a .368 hitting percentage.  Senior libero Brittany Robinson (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) contributed 26 digs on the effort. 
 
The Warhawks return home to the Williams Center Friday at 6 p.m. to host St. Norbert for New Student Night.