Cincinnati, Ohio – The Carthage College Red Men punched their ticket into the 2018 Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League on Friday night after defeating Mount St. Joseph University in The Queen City, 3-1 [25-22, 26-24, 24-26, 25-22].
 
The win moves the Red Men, currently ranked second in the nation, to 21-1 overall and to 7-1 in the MCVL, while the #13 Lions fall to 17-6 and 7-1 in the league.
 
"Getting a win was the most important thing tonight," said head coach LJ Marx after the win.  "We set out to do something tonight, which we did very well in the first and second set to take the 2-0 lead.  Unfortunately, we in the third we got away from what we were doing and lost our chance at the sweep but I was happy with how we bounced back.  Kelvin Rivera played a great match tonight.  Now, we have to go out and take care of Wittenberg and hope for a little hope to share the conference title tomorrow."
 
Kelvin Rivera became the first Red Men this season to eclipse 20 kills as the freshman outside from Puerto Rico finished the match with 22 kills and a .500 attack percentage.  Along with his kills, Rivera had a service ace and assisted on a block for 23.5 points for Carthage, leading all players in the match.
 
Matt Reinsel also had a very strong match, with a season-high 54 assists in the win.  For the junior setter, it is the first 50-plus assist performance of the year for him and the fourth of his career.
 
Evan Walsh and Zach Lillig both joined Rivera in double figures in kills with 16 and 13 respectively.  Both also led the Red Men with three blocks each.  Libero Tony Allen turned in a match-high 12 digs in the win as well.
 
Carthage will return to action in their regular season finale on Saturday in Springfield, Ohio, when the Red Men will take on Wittenberg University at 1:00 p.m. EST.  The tournament site and field will be set following the day's matches conclusion.