ROCHESTER, N.Y. –Carthage College concluded a busy second day in upstate New York that started with practice at host Nazareth College's Kidera Gymnasium and ended with 2016 NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship banquet and awards dinner, which saw the Red Men and each of their five individual All-America selection honored.
 
No. 3 Red Men volleyball will now turn to the business at hand as they take to the court Friday evening to face Stevenson University in the final quarterfinals match of the night at the 2016 NCAA DIII Championship.  First serve is set for 8:00 PM ET.
 
Tickets will be available on-site only and are $15 for adults; $7 for students/seniors/children and Children two and under will be free for Friday's quarterfinals.
 
The Red Men earned an at-large bid into the Championship following a tremendous season that saw Carthage go 27-1 overall; going 13-0 on their way to the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League regular season title; winning the 2016 MCVL tournament title in straight sets; and finishing the season with a perfect 24-0 record against Division III opponents. 
 
Since the conclusion of the conference tournament the Red Men have cleaned up in the awards department, beginning with a sweep of the MCVL regular season awards by outside hitter Griffin Shield as Offensive Player of the Year, middle blocker J.P. Tulacka as Defensive Player of the Year, setter Matt Reinsel as Rookie of the Year, and L.J. Marx as MCVL Coach of the Year.  Along with Reinsel, Shields and Tulacka, senior outside hitter Will Craft joined the three as first team All-MCVL members to lead all teams with four all-conference members. 
 
Next, the Red Men led the nation and tied a program record, set in 2012, with five American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America honorees.  Reinsel, who was the MCVL Rookie of the Year, took home the national honor when he was named the 2016 AVCA Newcomer of the Year.  Libero Marc Hansen, who was not named to the MCVL all-conference team, was named as an All-America first team member along with Griffin Shields and J.P. Tulacka.  Reinsel was joined by Craft on the second team to round out the five Red Men named to the All-America lists.
 
Additionally, Shields, Tulacka and Cody Bolan were named to the MCVL All-Tournament team with Shields taking home the MVP honors.
 
Making their third appearance into the NCAA DIII Championships, the Red Men are once again looking to advance as they have their first two showings, carrying a 3-2 record all-time in the tournament, advancing to the championship match in 2012 and the semifinals in 2014. 
 
Stevenson will be making their first NCAA DIII Championship appearance after topping Juniata and fellow 2016 Championship attendee Rutgers-Newark to earn the Continental Volleyball Conference's automatic bid to the National Tournament.
 
 Friday's matchup will not be the first of the season between the Red Men and Mustangs.  Carthage played host to then #8 Stevenson back on March 12th, which Carthage won in straight sets at Tarble Arena.
 
Stevenson enters the match led by setter Rob Wingert and middle blocker Nate Ellis who were named AVCA second team and honorable mention respectively, as well as, CVC all-conference.
 
As previously mentioned, the Red Men take to the court at 8:00 PM ET/7:00 PM CT to face Stevenson in the quarterfinals of the DIII Men's Volleyball Championship at Nazareth College's Kidera Gymnasium.  Back in Kenosha, Carthage College will host a watch party in the Skybox classroom in the TARC beginning at 7:00 PM CT.
 
Live stats, streaming and other information can be found by following the Championship Central link.