ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — The No. 6 Carthage College men's volleyball team got back on track on Wednesday night with a straight-set sweep over Augustana (Ill.). 

• Final score: Carthage 3 - Augustana (Ill.) 0
• Location: Rock Island, Illinois - Roy J. Carver Center
• Records: No. 6 Carthage 13-4 (5-1 CCIW), Augustana (Ill.) 10-7 (1-3 CCIW)

 

• Carthage shot out to a 9-3 margin with a kill from Carter Schmidt. 
• After the Vikings got within one, a kill from Ryan Cholewinski put the Firebirds ahead by two. 
• A combined block from Zach Bulthuis, Schmidt, and Gene McNulty moved the score to 18-14. 
• Carthage closed the set with a 7-4 run to collect the first 25-17. 
• Both teams traded point for point in the second as Carthage held a 17-13 lead with a kill from Bulthuis. 
• Another combined block from Drew Jansen and Cholewinski put the Firebird in front by five. 
• Augustana (Ill.) battled back, tying the set at 25. 
• A kill from Schmidt and a Vikings attack error won the set for the visitors 27-25. 
• A solo block from Cholewinski and a kill from Kyle Radecki gave Carthage a five-point advantage in the third. 
• Later, Jansen and Cholewinski recorded kills, putting the visitors in control 21-15. 
• Radecki closed out the game with a kill 25-18. 

• Carter Schmidt was the team leader in kills, with 12 on the day. Schmidt now has 577 career kills. Schmidt also hit .435 in the contest. 
• Drew Jansen added eight kills, while Kyle Radecki had five. 
• Gene McNulty moved his career assist total to 2187, as the junior had 31 on the day.

"Great road win by our group today. Being on a long bus ride and ready to play is always tough. I thought we handled that well and came out with some fire. 

Kyle Radecki had some great swings for us today. He was able to attack the line well and open up the court for our offense. Drew Jansen had a solid serve receive day for us; he was a big catalyst for our offense by keeping us in system. Zack Noland also served the ball really well today. He put some great pressure on Augustana and helped our defense make plays.

I am really happy to end the first half of conference play with a big 3-0 win. Every set is precious to us now. We need to keep getting better at the little things to be elite. If we can buy into that mentality, we have a chance to do something special as a group."


 

• The Firebirds return to the court on Thursday, March 23 for a non-conference match against Dominican (Ill.) at 7 p.m.