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Carthage College Athletics

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MVB Team
Mike Gryniewicz
3
Winner Carthage CARTH 5-3,1-0 CCIW
0
Benedictine (IL) BenU 2-4,0-0 NACC
Winner
Carthage CARTH
5-3,1-0 CCIW
3
Final
0
Benedictine (IL) BenU
2-4,0-0 NACC
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Carthage CARTH 25 25 25 (3)
Benedictine (IL) BenU 19 23 18 (0)

Game Recap: #6 Men's Volleyball |

No. 9 Men’s Volleyball Sweeps Benedictine

LISLE, Ill. — In a rematch of last year's national title game, the No. 9 Carthage College men's volleyball team defeated Benedictine (Ill.) 3-0 on the road Friday night.

Carthage (5-3) started with a 13-9 margin in the first set after an ace from Peyton Wieter. Benedictine (Ill.) (2-4) battled back, getting within three before back-to-back kills from Matt Slivinski made it 19-14. Later, a kill from David Markes made it 23-17 as the Firebirds won the set 25-19. 

It was a back-and-forth second set as the score was locked at 12. With the score even at 16, blocks from Carter Schmidt and Zach Bulthuis and Wieter and Bulthuis put the visitors ahead by two. After the Eagles tied it at 22, a kill and ace from Slivinski put Carthage at set point. A Markes kill won it 25-23.  

With the third set level at 11, the visitors took control going ahead 17-14 following a Schmidt kill. Another kill from Schmidt and two consecutive blocks extended the lead to 22-17. Carthage went on to win the game with a closing kill from Slivinski. 

The Firebirds return to conference play on Saturday, February 19, traveling to Augustana (Ill.) at 1 p.m. 
 

Head Coach JW Kieckhefer

"In a rematch of the 2021 National Championship, I am so proud of our group for coming out swinging and ready to play. We have a lot of friends on the other side of the net, so it's always a fun battle against Benedictine. Thee-set sweeps on the road are so tough to earn, and it was exciting to see our relentless team play today.

We talk a lot about the phrase "defense wins", and today we proved that. Zach Bulthuis was incredible at the net with six blocks and provided the spark we needed to build leads. Matt Slivinski did a great job picking up tips and rolls today to keep the ball off the floor. Carter Schmidt's consistency from the service line keeps pressure on the opponents all match. 

When we focus on the defensive side of the ball, we are tough to beat. We are going in the right direction, and I'm so proud of this group."
 

Quick Facts

  • Matt Slivinski and David Markes each registered 17 and 12 kills, respectively. Slivinski hit .429 (17 kills, five errors, and 28 total attempts), while Markes hit .579 (12 kills, one error, and 19 total attempts). 
  • Slivinski also led the Firebirds in digs with nine and now has 487 career digs. Slivinski is currently in ninth while Kyle Cohan is in 10th (458) after collecting four digs in the match. 
  • Carter Schmidt had eight kills and hit .571 with zero errors off 14 total attempts. 
  • The Firebird defense had nine total blocks in the match as Zach Bulthuis accounted for six of the nine.


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