KENOSHA, WIS.—The 2019 Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) Tournament is upon the #1 Carthage College Red Men, who will host #2 Fontbonne University, #3 Loras College and #4 North Central College (Ill.) on Friday, April 12 – Saturday, April 13 at Tarble Arena:
 
2019 MCVL Tournament Semifinals
Game One - #2 Fontbonne University vs. #3 Loras College – 4:00 p.m.
Game Two - #1 Carthage College vs. #4 North Central College (Ill.) – 7:00 p.m.
 
2019 MCVL Tournament Championship
Game Three – Winner Game One vs. Winner Game Two – 3:00 p.m.
 
The MCVL Tournament Champion will earn one of the 10 automatic bids into the 2019 NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship. Two pool C (institutions in an AQ conference), and two pool B bids (institutions not in AQ conference/independent) will also be awarded into the national tournament. The regional rounds will be held on April 19-20 on campus sites. Kean University will host the national semifinals and national championship on April 26-27 in Union, New Jersey.
 
ABOUT #1 CARTHAGE COLLEGE (22-1, 9-0 MCVL)
 
The Red Men, who've been atop the AVCA Division III Men's Poll for six-straight weeks, claimed their 13^th overall regular season conference championship in school history after sweeping all MCVL contests 3-0 en route to an unblemished 9-0 conference mark. A fourth MCVL Tournament title in five years is at stake for a Carthage team who owns 18, 3-0 sweeps along with an NCAA Division III-leading 13.13 assists per set and 13.79 kills per set so far in 2019.
 
Evan Walsh (3.69 kills per set) and Matt Slivinski (3.62 kills per set) make up the one-two punch of Carthage's offense. Feeding them is senior setter Matt Reinsel, who leads the country with 12.20 assists per set. Eric Winter's efficiency at the net also has him ranked high with 1.04 blocks per set (7th) along with a .414 hitting percentage (10^th). Walsh paces Carthage's defense with 2.37 digs per set.
 
The Red Men, whose lone blemish is a 3-1 loss to #6 Benedictine on February 8, are led by head coach L.J. Marx (15 seasons, 317-129).
 
ABOUT #2 FONTBONNE UNIVERSITY (23-2, 7-2 MCVL)
 
The Griffins, who've won a program-record 23 games in 2019, fell to the Red Men 3-0 on March 16 and dropped a 3-2 decision to Augustana on March 3 for their lone two losses of 2019. Fontbonne's 12.80 digs per set leads the country, where Zach Rothstein commands that unit with a 3.12 mark over 74 sets. The Griffins also rank among the top-10 Division III teams with 11.83 assists per set (6^th), 2.24 blocks per set (8^th), and 12.70 kills per set (6^th).
 
Mark Klusman leads the Griffins offense with 3.08 kills per set. Setting Klusman has been Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell, who carries 10.59 assists per set over 75 frames.
 
Fontbonne will be making their first ever postseason appearance, led by first-year head coach Ryan LeGrand. Carthage is 27-0 all-time against Fontbonne.
 
ABOUT #3 LORAS COLLEGE (21-6, 6-3 MCVL)
 
The Duhawks, who dropped a 3-0 decision to the Red Men in the 2018 MCVL Tournament Championship Game, will carry a second-ranked 13.00 kills per set and 12.06 assists per set into Friday's affair. Both of those figures only trails Carthage. The 2019 regular season match against the Red Men resulted in a 3-0 loss at Tarble Arena on March 23.
 
Mihajlo Gomez brings a hot hand to the service line for Loras with a fourth-ranked 0.70 aces per set. Leo Peters (3.21 kills per set), Gomez (3.07 kills per set) and Grant Ooms (3.06 kills per set) make up the dynamic trio for Loras's offense. Alfredo Lopez (10.54 assists per set) and Patrick Hollander (4.22 assists per set) have both seen significant reps setting for the Duhawks.
 
Other Loras losses in 2019 occurred against Augustana College (3-1, 3-2), Marian (3-2), Aurora (3-2) and Fontbonne (3-0). Jeremy Thornburg (57-68) is in his fifth season as Loras head men's volleyball coach. Carthage is 8-0 all-time against Loras.
 
ABOUT #4 NORTH CENTRAL (16-10, 6-3 MCVL)
 
The Red Men faced rival North Central on a pair of occasions in 2019, once in non-conference action. Both contests resulted in 3-0 sweeps for Carthage (February 20, April 5).

The Cardinals are led by Jacob Zemba's 2.82 kills per set, followed by Bozhidar's 2.76 figure. Setting them is Michael Trunzo, who carries 9.09 assists per set over 91 frames. Samuel Kharasch's 2.48 digs per set leads the team while Justin Curtis's 0.84 blocks per set is a team-high.
 
The Red Men own a 5-1 all-time record against North Central. Kyle Exline (58-44) is in his fourth season as North Central head men's volleyball coach.