AURORA — On Saturday, the No. 4 Carthage College men's volleyball team defeated No. 10 Aurora 3-1 in non-conference action. 

• Final Score: Carthage 3 - Aurora 1 (25-17, 25-22, 17-25, 25-19)
• Location: Aurora, Illinois - Thornton Gymnasium
• Records: No. 4 Carthage 16-2, Aurora 16-3

•  The Firebirds started strong, with Owen Otto delivering an early kill off a set from Ryan Morey. 
• Aurora called timeouts at 15-10 and 21-14 but couldn't halt Carthage's momentum. 
• A service error from Aurora sealed the set at 25-17.  
• The second set remained tight, with both teams exchanging leads. Otto and Ben Heise continued to find openings as a kill tied it at 12. 
• Aurora surged ahead 18-13, forcing a Carthage timeout. 
• The Firebirds responded with a late rally, tying the set at 22 before the Spartans' final kill secured a 25-22 win for Aurora.
• With momentum, Aurora jumped out early in the third set, taking a 6-4 margin, however, Carthage pulled ahead 17-12 with a kill from Heise. 
• The Firebirds closed the set with a kill from Otto and a Spartans attack error. 
• Morey's precise setting helped the Firebirds pull ahead 19-13, forcing Aurora into two late timeouts. 
• A final attack error by Aurora ended the match, giving Carthage a 25-19 set win. 

• Owen Otto had a match-best 18 kills, followed closely by Ben Heise with 15 and Ryan Cholewinski with 10. 
• Ryan Morey registered 42 assists in the match, the third time this season he has totaled 40 or more. 
• Zack Noland and Austin Mallory each had double-digit digs concluding with 15 and 13, respectively. 

"What a great battle today. I thought both teams played some incredible defense in the backcourt and the rallies were so much fun. Aurora brought an awesome crowd to the gym and the atmosphere was electric with all the noise. So much fun to be a part of matches with that level of excitement.

I am really proud of this group. We don't quit. We don't get frustrated. We just stay present, battle, and find ways to win. Ben Heise and Owen Otto today were really impressive offensively. Their range across the entire court was on display today and kept our offense scoring. I thought Zack Noland was impressive today. He handled the service pressure from Aurora really well and came up with some big digs. Hudson Sweitzer started the match with some great blocking moves and I thought we did a great job carrying that momentum throughout the match.

Two big conference matches this week. We need to rest up and find a way to beat a really good North Central team on Wednesday. I am hoping we can continue our progress with our offense and find ways to block more balls."



The Firebirds return home and continue conference action taking on Loras on Saturday, March 22 at 3 p.m.