Whitewater, Wis. -- The UW-Whitewater volleyball took down Carthage in a thrilling five-setter Saturday afternoon in Russell Arena. The Warhawks took the battle of the birds with set scores of 25-19, 14-25, 21-25, 25-16, 15-10. 

The Firebirds were more efficient offensively, but the Warhawks had a slight edge in serve-receive and blocking. UW-Whitewater's offense started off on a high note hitting .300 in the first set. Meanwhile the defense held Carthage to .182 attacking. Sets two and three were a much different story as UWW struggled from an efficiency standpoint hitting negative and zero in the pair of sets respectively. 

UWW picked it back up in the fourth set using a 5-0 run with Emma Bludgen (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) at the service line to open up an 11-6 gap. The Warhawks extended the gap to as much as eight, 20-12, leading to the 25-16 win to force a decisive fifth set. Emily Lego (Rock Falls, Ill./Rock Falls) bolstered UW-Whitewater in the fourth set with four of the team's 13 kills adding a block. 

Set five was a back-and-forth battle early. An Abbie Dix (Brodhead, Wis./Brodhead) and Aubrie Krzus (Wheaton, Ill./Warrenville South) block was followed up by an ace from Kyanne Wusterbarth (Oconto, Wis./Oconto) to sway the momentum toward the purple and white. A Firebird miscue on the next rally gave UWW a 7-5 advantage and forced a Carthage timeout. 

The teams traded the next two points before the Warhawks put a few together to provide some cushion. Krzus and Gaby DiMotto (New Berlin, Wis./West) registered back-to-back kills. UW-Whitewater switched servers as Olivia Donovan (Hazel Green, Wis./Wahlert Catholic) took over and Krzus capitalized with another kill. On the next serve, Donovan's float dropped perfectly on the back line for an ace and an 11-6 Warhawk lead. A few points later, Lego put the finishing touches on the match with a kill to seal the win. 

Lego had a career day with 14 kills adding three blocks. DiMotto joined her in double digits with 12 kills. Dix was a force at the net with seven blocks while fellow middle Hillmann posted five. 

Krzus registered 37 assists adding seven kills, three aces and three blocks. In the backcourt, Natalie Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill./IC Catholic Prep) led UWW with 19 digs. Wusterbarth and Bludgen each added 10.