The Carthage College men's volleyball team (7-4, 5-0 Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League), ranked No. 7 in the Feb. 24 American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll, defeated conference-opponent Dominican University (Ill., 5-4, 5-1 MCVL), 3-0, on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at the Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.
 
"We competed," said head coach L.J. Marx, "It was something we were lacking for a couple weeks, just some good old-fashion grit hard and guts. We had set such high expectations for ourselves this season. We were putting a lot of extra pressure on ourselves based upon the history of what Carthage men's volleyball has been, and this is a new season. We flustered ourselves a little bit, but we are just starting to get down to outworking people."
 
The Red Men started off the first set with a strong defense, having three blocks within their first four points. However, the score remained close with Dominican as Carthage opened up the set with a 6-5 lead and a kill by Zach Lillig (Fr., Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North). Both teams remained within at least one point of each other, until Jon Storm (Sr., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) had the go-ahead kill at 12-11 to help the Red Men create a four-point lead over the Stars, 15-11. Carthage extended their lead with three kills in a row from Scotty Adamczyk (Jr., Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South), Storm, and Ricky Figueroa (Fr., Newbury Park, Ca./Oaks Christian) bringing the score to 18-12. The Red Men continued to stay strong and close out the set 25-20 with a kill by Storm.
 
The second set opened with ties of 5-5 and 8-8. Carthage took a four-point lead at 17-13 from back-to-back kills by Lillig and Matt Ciaglia (Sr., Roselle, Ill./Lake Park West), however Dominican battled back to pull within one at 19-18 and then tie the score up at 20-20. The Red Men took a two-point lead at 23-21, with a kill by Lillig, but the Stars held on and tied the score up at 24-24. A kill by Storm followed by an ace from Figueroa won the second set for Carthage, 26-24. The Stars kept it close at the beginning of the third set, opening with a tie of 9-9 and then creating a two-point lead at 13-15. Dominican continued to control the pace of the set and had a lead of 18-21 over Carthage until the Red Men got on the attack and tied the score at 21-21 with a kill by Griffin Shields (So., Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) followed by back-to-back kills from Adamczyk. Both teams continued to battle with each other and Dominican had the lead at 22-23. Carthage responded to this and closed out the set with three kills in a row from Lillig, Adamczyk, and Storm.
 
"Earlier in the season, we made a couple of mistakes and it was like the world was ending," continued Marx, "where as now we understand that it's okay, regroup, trust each other and trust what the guys have been saying for the last three or four years in this program, which is 'one heart beat,' rely on your teammates when you're struggling a little bit."
 
Adamczyk led the Red Men with 13 kills, eight digs, and a .250 attacking percentage. Storm had 12 kills and seven digs for Carthage, while teammates Figueroa had 40 assists and Marc Hansen (So., Oak Lawn, Ill./Oak Lawn) collected 10 digs. Jeremy Royko led the Stars with 14 kills and four blocks.
 
"[Adamcyk] played really well," said Marx, "we got in a couple rough spots and made a few mistakes, but he kept his composure and kept battling, which is what we were expecting out of our guys."
 
The Red Men travel to Cincinnati, Ohio, on Friday, Feb. 27, to play conference-opponent and No. 14 College of Mount St. Joseph at 7 p.m. in the Harrington Center.