CHICAGO — The No. 7 ranked Carthage College men's volleyball squad started the week with a 3-1 win over North Park on the road on Wednesday. 

• Final score: Carthage 3 - Loras 1
• Location: Chicago, Illinois - North Park Gymnasium
• Records: No. 7 Carthage 16-5 (8-1 CCIW), North Park 8-19 (1-8 CCIW)

• North Park secured a three-point lead through consecutive kills in the opening set.
• Despite Carthage narrowing the gap to 22-19 with a kill courtesy of Ryan Cholewinski, the Vikings ultimately clinched the set 25-20.
• The second set saw Carthage seize control with Drew Jansen's and Keegan Brumitt's kills, establishing a commanding 17-11 lead.
• Carthage extended their dominance as another kill from Jansen pushed the score to 22-17, culminating in a 25-18 set win for the Firebirds.
• North Park gained a two-point advantage in the third set due to a service error.
• Momentum shifted as Ethan Sprague's kill and a solo block from Jansen equalized the score at 17.
• Both teams engaged in a back-and-forth battle until North Park secured a slim lead at 26-25.
• Carthage rallied and secured the set with three consecutive blocks, securing a hard-fought 28-26 victory.
• The fourth set witnessed the home team surging to an 11-4 margin.
• Despite the initial deficit, the Firebirds fought back, leveling the score at 18 with a solo block by Sprague.
• With the match on the line, Brumitt sealed the deal with two crucial kills following a Vikings service error, clinching the set and the match with a final score of 25-22.

• Three Firebirds totaled double-digit kills: Keegan Brumitt (11), Ben Heise (11), and Drew Jansen (10). 
• Ethan Sprague tied his season-high in total blocks with seven. 
• Jansen and Jack McDonald each had nine digs in the match. 
• Brumitt, Jansen, and Heise have recorded double-digit kills in seven matches this season. 
• Carthage hit .323 in set two (13 kills, three errors, 31 total attacks). 

"I'm really proud of our resilience today. We fought and adjusted all match long to find ways to win contested sets. North Park is a scrappy team that puts pressure on you with amazing defensive effort. I was really proud of Drew Jansen and Easton Gavin today. Their senior prescience kept the team calm and composed in big moments. Our blocking was stellar again today. Fourteen blocks in a single match is a crazy high number, and that comes from making adjustments throughout a match to learn about attackers. I was proud of Ethan Sprague and Ryan Cholewinski for running our net play so well today."

• The Firebirds close the regular season on Saturday, April 6 against Augustan (Ill.) starting at 3 p.m.