KENOSHA, Wis. – With a chance to become the standalone Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) Regular Season Champion, the Carthage College men's volleyball team (25-1, 13-0 MCVL) returned to Tarble Arena to face off against the Tigers of Wittenberg University (14-11, 4-9 MCVL). The Red Men, ranked No. 3 in the March 29 AVCA Men's Division III Top 15 Poll, took time prior to the match to honor seniors Scotty Adamczyk, Will Craft, and J.P. Tulacka.
 
Wittenberg took an early 5-2 lead in the first set, only to be overshadowed by a four-point run by Carthage to take the lead 6-5. A short while later after the lead had exchanged sides a few times, the Red Men made a 7-2 run to regain the lead, 16-13. Carthage held onto their lead and won 25-18.  
 
Carthage struck first in the second set and took a commanding 7-3 lead early on. The Red Men controlled the score for the remainder of the set and were able to take the second set 25-18.
 
Carthage dominated the third set and made multiple four-point runs throughout the set. Carthage easily took the third and final set 25-19, securing a 3-0 sweep of the Tigers from Wittenberg University.
 
As a team, the Red Men collected 32 kills, seven service aces, 12 blocks, 31 assists, 28 digs, and hit .273. Will Craft led Carthage in kills with 11, accompanied by Zach Lillig with eight and J.P. Tulacka with five. Griffin Shields, Craft, and Tulacka each earned two service aces in the match against the Tigers. Tulacka compiled eight blocks, closely followed by Craft and Shields with five apiece, respectively. Matt Reinsel finished the match with 29 assists and Marc Hansen connected on eight digs.
 
The Red Men finished the regular season with a perfect NCAA Division III record of 22-0 and a perfect MCVL record of 13-0.  
 
"Not the prettiest of wins so far, but we will take it," said head coach L.J. Marx.  "Happy for our seniors to get the win on senior day and proud of our guys for finishing undefeated against the Division III opponents this season.  It was a lofty goal of ours and the team accepted the challenge.  We are excited to host the MCVL tournament next week as the top seed and hopefully finish what we started."
 
With the win over the Tigers, the Red Men have become the standalone winners of the MCVL Regular Season Championship Title. In addition, the Red Men have earned the No. 1 seed in the MCVL tournament, and the right to host the tournament April 8-9 at Tarble Arena.
 
No. 1 seed Carthage will take on the No. 4 seed Dominican University on Friday, April 8 at 7 p.m. at Tarble Arena. Prior to Carthage's match, No. 2 seed MSOE will take on No. 3 seed Lakeland at 4 p.m. The winners of each match will battle for the MCVL Tournament Championship on Saturday, April 9 at 2 p.m.