KENOSHA, WIS.—The #1 Carthage College men's volleyball team was one step from converting a flawless MCVL season with straight 3-0 sweeps. Despite a late scare in set two, the Red Men rose to the occasion and cemented a 3-0 victory over the Cardinals en route to an unblemished 9-0 MCVL record in front of 628 fans at Tarble Arena on Friday night. The victory marked the first time Carthage swept all MCVL opponents since they joined the conference in 2015. The Red Men also finished the regular season with 18 3-0 sweeps, which matches their total from 2016.
Evan Walsh tied for a game-high 10 kills, and led all players outright with eight digs.
Matt Slivinski and
Braeden Waumans each tallied eight kills for the Red Men, while
Eric Winter dominated the net with five blocks to go along with a .625 hitting park that included six kills. Waumans and
Blake Arnold each chipped in seven digs for the Red Men.
The Red Men finished the match with a .341 hitting mark, and held North Central to a .167 figure.
Matt Reinsel posted 34 assists for the Red Men. Jacob Zemba paced the North Central offense with 10 kills.
Carthage, who clinched the outright 2019 MCVL Regular Season Championship with their 3-0 sweep over Adrian on March 30, will be the #1 seed for the four-team 2019 MCVL Tournament that will be held at Tarble Arena on Friday, April 12 – Saturday, April 13. The MCVL Semifinal Games will be held on Friday, April 12, with the MCVL Championship Game to follow on Saturday, April 13.
The remaining four-team field will be set following tomorrow's MCVL regular season games.
Carthage ends their 2019 regular season 22-1, 9-0 MCVL while North Central falls to 16-10, 6-3 MCVL.
Red Men 3, North Central 0
The Red Men led from start-to-finish in a 25-18 victory in set one before back-and-forth volleyball in the later stages of set two was the story. The Cardinals grabbed their first lead of the set at 18-17 before a pair of Anthony Kluzak kills down the stretch gave them a 24-22 edge that sparked Carthage's 4-0 run to end the set. A pair of
Eric Winter kills, and a Walsh kill engineered the run that gave the Red Men a 26-24 win.
The Red Men, who trailed as late as 17-16 in set three, were led by Walsh's five kills in the frame that secured a 25-21 win and 3-0 sweep.
Seniors
Dan Dobrowolski,
Tony Allen, Reinsel, Walsh and
Kai Cromwell were honored prior to Friday's bout.
