KENOSHA, WIS.—The Carthage College men's volleyball team hosted their second-straight NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Regional, where they kicked-off the tournament with a bout against UC Santa Cruz in a semifinal match at Tarble Arena on Friday. The Red Men took down the Banana Slugs 3-2 in record-setting fashion at Tarble Arena on February 9. Déjà vu took its toll with another five-set match as the Red Men came back from a 2-0 deficit to send the match to a fifth set, where a 10-2 Banana Slug lead was too much to overcome in a 15-6 set loss and 3-2 match defeat.
 
A trio of Red Men eclipsed double-figure kills, led by Evan Walsh's 19. Braeden Waumans tallied 14, and a game-high .242 hitting mark while Matt Slivinski posted 13 kills. Blake Arnold turned in a career outing with 21 digs while it was another day at the office for Eric Winter and Parker Connolly, who each notched five blocks. Matt Reinsel posted 50 assists for the Red Men.
 
Raymond Cascio's 27 kills for UC Santa Cruz ranks third among all-time NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament games. The Banana Slugs hit .260 in the contest, and held Carthage to a .174 figure. The Red Men held an advantage in digs with 64 compared to UC Santa Cruz's 57.
 
The Red Men end their season 23-3 while the Banana Slugs advance to tomorrow's NCAA Division III Regional Final against Fontbonne 19-16 overall. Fontbonne defeated MSOE 3-1 in the second semifinal match.
 
UC Santa Cruz 3, Red Men 2
 
The Banana Slugs jumped to a 2-0 cushion after two sets (26-24, 25-21). Walsh and Waumans each imploded with five kills for Carthage in set three. Waumans closed the deal with back-to-back kills to ice Carthage a 26-24 win in the third. The Red Men came through with 17 kills and a .300 hitting mark in the fourth frame, where Slivinski notched six kills and Waumans matched his production from the third set with five to give Carthage a convincing 25-20 win.
 
Errors proved costly for Carthage in set five, where the Banana Slugs' 10-2 cushion was enough to secure a 15-6 win and 3-2 match victory. 
 
The Red Men bid farewell to seniors Kai Cromwell, Matt Reinsel, Evan Walsh, Dan Dobrowolski, and Tony Allen.