NAPERVILLE, Ill. — In the finals of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Men's Volleyball Tournament, the Carthage College men's team fought hard against top-seeded North Central (Ill.) but fell to the Cardinals 3-1 Saturday evening. 

• Final score: North Central 3 - Carthage 1
• Location: Naperville, Illinois - Gregory Arena
• Records: No. 1 North Central (Ill.) 22-3, No. 2 Carthage 17-7

 
 

• North Central (Ill.) jumped ahead 12-9 in the first.
• A service error for the Cardinals shrank the deficit to 16-14. 
• Later a kill from Kyle Radecki cut the lead to three, but North Central won the first 25-20. 
• In the second, a kill from Zach Bulthuis and a combined block from the duo of Mitch Geiger and Ryan Cholewinski made it 9-8 early. 
• Back-to-back kills for the home team pushed them ahead 16-10. 
• North Central (Ill.) went on to win the second 25-15. 
• In the third, Carthage responded, going up 12-10 with a kill from Geiger. 
• Four unanswered points for the Firebirds extended the margin to five. 
• Later, five straight points extended the Carthage lead to 21-14. 
• Two kills from Drew Jansen, and Geiger sparked a set win for the visitors 25-19. 
• Carthage controlled a quick 7-2 score in the fourth. 
• Another kill from Bulthuis put the Firebirds in control by two. 
• North Central (Ill.) battled back to tie it at 15. 
• Though a kill from Bulthuis saw the set even at 19, the Cardinals used three straight kills to move the score to 22-19. 
• North Central (Ill.) held off the Firebirds' comeback to win the match 25-22. 

• Mitch Geiger and Zach Bulthuis posted double-digit kills on the day, with 14 and 13, respectively. 
• Bulthuis hit .478 in the match (13 kills, two errors, 23 total attacks). 
• Junior Easton Gavin recorded nine digs, followed closely by Drew Jansen with eight. 

 

• The Firebirds will now see who they will play in the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament which will be announced on Monday, April 17 at 9 a.m.