OLIVET, Mich. – The Carthage College men's volleyball team got their 2017 Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League season started on the right foot on Friday, going to Olivet College and sweeping the Comets in three sets [25-18, 25-13, 25-15].
 
The win moves the #8 Red Men to 2-1 on the year and 1-0 in conference, while Olivet falls to 1-2 and 0-1 in the MCVL.
 
For the Red Men, the win also marks the 38th straight conference win in the MCVL during the regular season dating back to the inaugural 2014 season.
 
"Opening conference with a win is always a good situation even better when it is on the road," said head coach L.J. Marx after the win.  "We started the match a little sluggish, mostly because of the first road trip, but that is something we can learn from going forward. We were able to play lots of guys and get them some valuable experience, which we know we will need as the season unfolds.  Over all a good win."
 
Following a slow start in the first set, the Red Men grabbed control of the set behind the serve of Tony Allen who, with the set tied at six, served the next three points to give Carthage the 9-6 lead.  After Olivet cut the lead to one Carthage took over and finished off the first set hitting .286 to Olivet's .036.
 
That would be the biggest scare the Red Men faced on the evening as .333 and .320 hitting performances, coupled with -.333 and -.074 hitting games by the Comets, allowed Carthage to complete the sweep in straight-sets.
 
On the night Carthage had 36 kills to Olivet's 14, with Marc Hansen leading the Red Men with eight kills through the first two sets before sitting the third.  Matt Reinsel, who also sat the third set, finished with 29 assists for Carthage.
 
Defensively, freshman Dieter Ripperger and junior Max Bongratz tied for match-highs with three blocks apiece and Hansen and Braeden Waumans each tallied five digs to lead the way.
 
The Red Men also found their groove on the serve as Carthage got four aces to Olivets none in the match.  Recording aces for the Red Men in the win were Reinsel and Waumans with one each and Max Bongratz with a pair.
 
Carthage will have a fast turnaround now as the Red Men will hit the court at Albion College on Saturday, January 28th at 10:30 a.m. eastern standard time.