KENOSHA, Wis. — The No. 11 Carthage College men's volleyball team picked up a 3-0 sweep over North Central (Ill.) for the first College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin win at home on Wednesday at Tarble Arena.

The Red Men (9-3, 3-0 CCIW) began set one with a 5-1 lead sparked by back-to-back service aces from Conner Lilly until the Cardinals (9-4, 3-1 CCIW) got within four at 9-5. Later in the set, a kill from Braeden Waumans made it 18-12. North Central (Ill.) would get as close as eight before a block from Jacob Allard and a Cardinals attack error gave Carthage the set 25-15. In the second, the Red Men controlled a 11-9 margin however, North Central (Ill.) battled back to get within one. Carthage used a 10-5 run to put the home team up 21-15. The Cardinals once again shrank the deficit to but a North Central (Ill.) attack error gave the Red Men a two-set lead 25-19. 

It was a back-and-forth effort to start the third as the Red Men held a 8-5 margin. North Central (Ill.) narrowed the deficit to three however, a pair of service aces from Matt Slivinski made it 23-14. The Red Men collected the final two-points to win the match 25-17.

The Red Men travel to Greenville on Saturday, February 29 beginning at 1 p.m.

Head Coach JW Kieckhefer

"That is the most consistent match of volleyball we have played all season. We have been talking a lot about losing our style and consistency in 2nd sets this year and I thought we did a good job of responding to the energy from the North Central side of the net. Bryce Thomas had a big night for us at the opposite position hitting .357 and getting seven digs. If we can balance the offense with him we are tough to stop. We proved today that it's defense that wins matches. We have to continue to have that defensive, grind it out mentality, the rest of the season."