KENOSHA, Wis. – The Carthage College men's volleyball team (20-1, 8-0 Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League) took to the court at Tarble Arena on Saturday, March 12^th to play host to the Bobcats of New York University (9-10) and the Mustangs of Stevenson University (18-6). The Red Men retained their No. 3 ranking in the March 8 AVCA Division III Men's Top 15 Poll. Both NYU and Stevenson were ranked in the poll as well with NYU earning the No. 15 ranking and Stevenson earning the No. 8 ranking.
 
In the first match of the day, Carthage jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead over the NYU Bobcats on a kill by Griffin Shields and two errors by the Bobcats. The Red Men would hold onto the lead throughout the set and would earn the 25-20 win. NYU would strike first in the second set and would eventually take a 12-8 lead. With Will Craft serving, Carthage made a four-point run to tie the game 12-12. Shortly after the Bobcats took the lead once again 16-15. The Red Men would then take a six-point run to take the lead 21-16. Carthage retained the lead and won the second set 25-21, extending their lead to 2-0.
 
Even with a 2-0 lead, Carthage would not be able to retain control of the next two sets as NYU would take both the third and fourth set 25-23. With the match tied 2-2, Carthage took control of the match and finished the game with a commanding 15-7 win in the fifth set over NYU, securing the 3-2 win for the Red Men.
 
As a team, Carthage collected 74 kills, seven service aces, 16 blocks, 68 assists, 64 digs, and hit .196. Griffin Shields and Will Craft each earned career highs in kills with Shields collecting 30 kills and Craft collecting 25. Craft also made six service aces in the match. J.P. Tulacka recorded 10 total digs, accompanied by Zach Lillig and Shields with six apiece. Matt Reinsel finished with 57 assists and Marc Hansen made 15 digs.  
 
The second match of the day showed a more determined Carthage as they took on Stevenson University. The Mustangs jumped out to an early 13-7 lead over Carthage to start the first set. A while later, down 21-19 to Stevenson, Carthage made a six-point run with Will Craft serving to come from behind and win the first set 25-21.
 
Carthage struck first in the second set and earned a 10-6 lead early on. The Mustangs were not able to recover from the deficit as the Red Men went on to win 25-16, extending their lead to 2-0. Both the Red Men and the Mustangs came out swinging to start the third set as the two teams found themselves tied at 14-14 midway through the set. On the next point, Scotty Adamczyk made a kill that would start a four-point run for the Red Men, earning a lead of 18-14 over Stevenson. Carthage kept the lead for the remainder of the set and won the third set 25-23, earning themselves a 3-0 sweep of the Mustangs.
 
Collectively the Red Men made 39 kills, two service aces, eight blocks, 35 assists, 26 digs, and hit .237 in the three set match. Griffin Shields led the team in kills with 17, accompanied by Will Craft and Tulacka with seven apiece. Craft and Shields each earned one service ace each as well. Tulacka led the team in blocks with six, accompanied by Shields with five. Matt Reinsel recorded 32 assists and Marc Hansen compiled 12 digs.  
 
The Red Men hit the road for two matches next weekend. Carthage will take on Marian University at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 18th in Fond du Lac, Wis.  at the Sadoff Gymnasium. On Saturday, March 18^th, Carthage will face the Muskies of Lakeland College at 3 p.m. in Howards Grove, Wis. at the Moose & Dona Wolten Gymnasium. The next home match for the Red Men takes place on Thursday, March 24^th at 7 p.m. versus the Milwaukee School of Engineering.