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The Official Website of The Carthage College Firebirds
McDonald-Jack
Abbey Calhoun
1
UC Santa Cruz UCSC 21-13,0-0 DIII Independent
3
Winner Carthage CARTH 18-7,9-3 CCIW
UC Santa Cruz UCSC
21-13,0-0 DIII Independent
1
Final
3
Carthage CARTH
18-7,9-3 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
UC Santa Cruz UCSC 21 30 21 20 (1)
Carthage CARTH 25 28 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: #6 Men's Volleyball |

High Octane Offense Gives Firebirds Opening Round NCAA Men’s Volleyball Tournament Victory Over Banana Slugs

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — To begin the 2023 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament, the Carthage College men's team defeated UC Santa Cruz 3-1 Friday night. 

The Basics
  • Final score: Carthage 3 - UC Santa Cruz 1
  • Location: Naperville, Illinois - Gregory Arena
  • Records: No. 8 Carthage (18-7), UC Santa Cruz (21-13)

How it Happened 
 
  • In a rematch from the regular season contest, Carthage landed themselves on the board first following an attack error.  
  • Zach Bulthuis came in with a strong kill for Carthage to put the Firebirds ahead early. 
  • Both teams continued to battle point-for-point until a kill from Mitch Geiger sparked a 5-0 run to bring the Firebirds ahead 15-10. 
  • Three consecutive kills from Geiger, Carter Schmidt, and Ryan Cholewinski lifted the divide between the teams to 19-12.
  • The Banana Slugs tried to regain control of the set with two kills and a service ace, but the Firebirds held their ground as a kill from Bulthuis sealed the deal for the 25-21 set win. 
  • Carthage continued the momentum in the second with a service ace from Geiger. 
  • A kill from Schmidt and an attack error from UC Santa Cruz brought the Firebirds up by four.
  • Back-to-back kills from Bulthuis and Cholewinski helped extend Carthage's advantage to 13-7.
  • After a quick retaliation from the Banana Slugs, a service error and two kills from Drew Jansen made it 15-10.
  • After alternating back and forth throughout the set, an attack error tied the score 20-20.
  • Two kills and a block from Bulthuis gave the Firebirds set point at 24-22. 
  • A kill from UC Santa Cruz tied it at 28 as a service ace from the Banana Slugs won them the second set 30-28.
  • A kill from Geiger, followed by an attack error and a service ace, ushered Carthage to a 10-6 lead in the third.
  • Back-to-back attack errors from UC Santa Cruz helped Carthage gain momentum, extending the margin to 19-15.
  • Kills from Bulthuis and Schmidt brought the Firebirds up 24-20 as a closing kill from Schmidt won the set 25-21. 
  • It was another back-to-back pair of kills from Drew Jansen to get the Firebirds rolling in the fourth set.
  • UC Santa Cruz was able to slice the deficit with a four-point swing. 
  • Two more kills from Schmidt and a Bulthuis block helped gain an advantage against the Banana Slugs to 12-10.
  • Later, Geiger came in strong with two more kills to bring the score up to 16-13 
  • A quick 3-0 run from David Markes ballooned the score to 23-19. 
  • The Firebirds won the final set 25-20 with a kill from Schmidt.

High Flyers  
Coachs Remarks




Up Next 
  • Carthage will return to the court on Saturday, April 22, playing tournament host North Central (Ill.) at 6 p.m. 




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