NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Carthage College men's volleyball team (16-1, 6-0 Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League), ranked No. 3 in the February 23^rd AVCA Top 15 Poll, played their final match of a road trip to the New York City Area against the Baruch College Bearcats (7-7) on Saturday, February 27^th at the Arc Arena. On Friday, the Red Men beat No. 6 Stevens Institute of Technology 3-1 and Medialle College 3-0.
 
The score stayed close through the beginning of the set. Eventually, Carthage found themselves with a 14-11 lead over the Bearcats. The Red Men took the opportunity to make a five-point run with J.P. Tulacka serving and extended their lead to 19-11. Carthage would hold onto the lead for the remainder of the set and would win 25-19.
 
The Red Men jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead in the beginning of the second self with Will Craft serving. With the score 10-5 in favor of the Red Men, the Bearcats mounted a small comeback and went on a six-point run to take the lead 11-10 over the Red Men. A few points later, the Bearcats would make a three-point run to extend their lead to 18-14 over the Red Men. With the score at 20-16, the Red Men scored three in a row to come within one of the Bearcats, 19-20. Baruch would retain the lead throughout the end of the set and would win 25-23, tying the match 1-1.
 
Both teams showed their tenacity and endurance to start the third set as the two teams rallied back and forth throughout the start of the set. Down 3-4, the Red Men made a five-point run to take the lead 8-4. With the score at 14-10, the Red Men made a five-point run to extend their lead to 19-10. Carthage would go on to win the third set 25-14, extending their lead to 2-1.
 
Scoring stayed tight to start the fourth set until Carthage found themselves down 9-10. Carthage then went on a six-point run to take the lead 15-10. Carthage kept the read for the rest of the match and won the fourth set 25-18, securing a 3-1 win over the Bearcats.
 
The win over Baruch is Carthage 14^th win in a row over their opponents.
 
As a team, the Red Men collected 45 kills, nine service aces, six and-a-half blocks, 42 assists, 35 digs, and hit .330. Griffin Shields led in kills with 15 total kills, followed by Will Craft and Zach Lillig with 9 kills apiece, respectively. J.P. Tulacka completed three service aces. Lillig and Tulacka each made three blocks, accompanied by Scotty Adamczyk with two. Matt Reinsel finished the match with 39 assists and Craft recorded 11 digs.
 
"It was a good weekend!" said head coach L.J. Marx. "Three tough matches … it was fantastic to come out of it with three wins. We knew it was going to be tough. The boys played really well. I know they were a little worn down today after flying Thursday night, playing two pretty intense matches on Friday and then one match today. We had good energy today, we got the win, and now we have to hustle home and get ready for next weekend."
 
The Red Men return to play on Thursday, March 3^rd at 7 p.m. as they take on Dominican University (Ill.) in River Forest, Ill. On Saturday, March 5^th Carthage will hit the road again to play Benedictine University (Ill.) in a 2 p.m. match at the Dan & Ada Rice Center in Lisle, Ill. Carthage will return home to Tarble Arena on Saturday, March 12^th to play New York University at 11 a.m. and Stevenson University at 6 p.m.