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Men's volleyball gathers before beginning play
Steda Lundak
2
Carthage CARTH 16-3,5-1 CCIW
3
Winner North Central (IL) NCC 11-5,4-2 CCIW
Carthage CARTH
16-3,5-1 CCIW
2
Final
3
North Central (IL) NCC
11-5,4-2 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Carthage CARTH 25 18 23 25 10 (2)
North Central (IL) NCC 21 25 25 19 15 (3)

Game Recap: #6 Men's Volleyball |

No. 4 Men’s Volleyball Drops Thrilling Five-Set Battle to No. 19 North Central (Ill.)

NAPERVILLE — The Carthage College men's volleyball team opened conference play this week with a hard-fought match against No. 19 North Central (Ill.), pushing the contest to five sets before falling 3-2.

The Basics
  • Final Score: No. 19 North Central (Ill.) 3 - No. 4 Carthage 2 (21-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-19, 10-15)
  • Location: Naperville, Illinois  - Gregory Arena
  • Records: No. 19 North Central (Ill.) 11-5 (4-2 CCIW), No. 4 Carthage 16-3 (5-1 CCIW)
How it Happened
  • Both teams battled for control early in the first set until a kill by Ryan Cholewinski gave Carthage a 13-11 lead.
  • Owen Hendricks kept the Firebirds ahead with a timely kill, helping Carthage secure the first set 25-21.
  • North Central (Ill.) gained momentum in the second set, jumping out to a 16-10 lead.
  • Kills from Owen Otto and Ben Heise narrowed the deficit to 23-18, but the Cardinals closed out the set with two kills.
  • The third set was a back-and-forth battle until North Central (Ill.) pulled ahead with three consecutive points.
  • Heise brought Carthage within two, but the Cardinals maintained control and took the set 25-23.
  • In the fourth, a solo block by Otto gave Carthage an 11-7 advantage.
  • Later, a kill from Ruben Emmerich extended the lead to 22-17, and an attack error by North Central (Ill.) forced a decisive fifth set.
  • Three unanswered points by the Cardinals gave them a five-point edge in the fifth.
  • Otto and Heise combined for kills to close the gap to 11-8, but North Central (Ill.) sealed the match with a kill and a block to win 15-10.

High Flyers
  • Owen Otto led Carthage with 19 kills, followed by Ben Heise with 15 and Owen Hendricks with 12.  
  • Ryan Morey set a new career high with 51 assists in the match.  
  • Hendricks paced the Firebirds defensively with a team-leading 17 digs.
Coachs Remarks
"Credit to North Central. They played hard all match and brought some defensive energy to the gym. We had to find a way to elevate our play and match that.

I was really impressed with Owen Hendricks defense today. He found a way to get balls up consistently throughout the match.

I'm proud of this group for responding to the run North Central made in sets two and three to force a fifth set. We just have to do a better job of serving and blocking if we want to get to where we want to go."


Team Results
Carthage returns home to face No. 13 Loras on Saturday, March 22 at 3 p.m. 
 
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