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Bulthuis-Zach
Mike Tripp/Sideline Media
0
Dominican (IL) DU 17-2,11-1 NACC
3
Winner Carthage CARTH 22-0,11-0 CCIW
Dominican (IL) DU
17-2,11-1 NACC
0
Final
3
Carthage CARTH
22-0,11-0 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Dominican (IL) DU 23 19 28 (0)
Carthage CARTH 25 25 30 (3)

Game Recap: #6 Men's Volleyball |

Thrilling Third Set Sends Firebirds to the NCAA Championship Match

SALEM, Va. — The No. 1 seed Carthage College men's volleyball team defeated Dominican (Ill.) in straight sets to advance to the 2021 NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship game on Friday at the Salem Civic Center. 

Playing as the No. 3 seed Dominican (Ill.) (17-2), started with a 7-4 lead to start the first until a 5-2 run for Carthage (22-0) tied it at nine. After the Stars controlled a 15-13 advantage heading into the media timeout, the Firebirds used a 9-2 to take the lead 22-18 sparked by back-to-back kills from Schmidt and Matt Slivinski. The Stars battled back getting within one but a Dominican (Ill.) service error gave Carthage the set 25-23. 

In set two, the Firebirds started with a 6-2 lead with an ace from Blake Arnold. Later in the set, a kill from Zach Bulthuis made it 13-7. The Stars got within six with a block but another kill from Bulthuis moved it to 23-16 as Carthage went on to win the set 25-19. 

It was a back-and-forth effort in the third as the score was tied at 13. Following the media timeout, Dominican (Ill.) controlled a 17-16 lead until Carthage tied it at 19. Dominican jumped out by two with a Stars kill at 22-20. The Firebirds battled to tie the set at 25 with a kill from Bryce Thomas. Dominican later went ahead at 28-27 however, a Stars service error, attack error, and a final kill from Slivinski gave Carthage the straight-set sweep 30-28.  

Carthage advances to the NCAA National Championship and will await the winner of Southern Virginia versus Benedictine. The Firebirds will be on the court on Saturday, April 24 at 4 p.m. CST.   

Post Game Interview


Quick Facts

  • Matt Slivinski led the Firebirds in kills with 17 while Carter Schmidt added 11. 
  • Zach Bulthuis added eight kills and led Carthage in blocks with three. 
  • Gene McNulty registered 39 assists on the day as the Firebirds hit .355 and .357 in sets two and three respectively. 
  • It marks the first time since 2012 that Carthage has reached the National Championship game. 
You can keep up with Carthage Athletics by following us on Facebook at facebook.com/carthageathletics, Twitter by following @CarthageSports, and on Instagram by following @CarthageAthletics.

 
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