MEQUON — The No. 2 Carthage College men's volleyball team opened the match in commanding fashion, rolling off 14 straight points to start the first set before closing out a straight-set victory behind timely kills from Erik Stover, Ryan Bartz, and Hudson Sweitzer. 

• Final Score: Carthage 3 - Concordia (Wis.) 0 (25-10, 25-23, 25-16)
• Location: Mequon, Wisconsin - R. John Buuck Fieldhouse 
• Records: Carthage 4-0, Concordia (Wis.) 0-5

• Carthage opened the match with 14 straight points to begin the first set.
• The Firebirds cruised to a 25-10 win in the opener, capped by a kill from Erik Stover.
• The second set stayed tight throughout, with the Falcons holding a 22-19 lead late.
• Carthage answered with five consecutive points, highlighted by kills from Ethan Sprague and Ben Heise.
• Ryan Bartz delivered the set-winning kill to give Carthage a 25-23 decision.
• The visitors jumped ahead 8-4 in the third set following an ace from Owen Hendricks.
• Stover added another kill to extend the advantage to 19-13.
• Hudson Sweitzer finished off the match with a kill as Carthage closed out the third set, 25-16.

• Hudson Sweitzer paced Carthage with 12 kills while hitting .923.
• Owen Hendricks added 11 kills, and Ben Heise finished with nine.
• Carthage hit .737 in the opening set and .432 for the match, totaling 44 kills with just nine errors.
• Joe Kolwicz posted 33 assists, and Devon O'Callaghan recorded 10 digs. 

"I'm so proud of this group. We have so much talent all over this roster. The depth we have is the reason we have a shot to be special this season. Today we proved that.

Our serve receive group was great all day. Devon O'Callaghan, Erik Stover and Owen Hendricks handled some really impressive service pressure to keep us in system. Joe Kolwicz took those passes and led an efficient offense. His ability to get the ball into the middle front allowed us to pull out to big leads. Hudson Sweitzer was special offensively today and I'm so happy he was able to show off the work he has put in over the last two years.

Ethan Sprague was a great leader for us defensively and kept us locked in on the scout. His blocking moves were great all day. Devon O'Callaghan's dig in set 2 sparked our big run to steal a set.

I'm so happy with this team and how we have started the year. The mix of efficient offense and defensive effort is something I have rarely seen this early in a season. 

Come out on Wednesday to support us in a NCAA Tournament rematch vs Aurora! We need all the help from the Carthage community!"

• Carthage returns home playing Aurora on Thursday, January 28 at 7 p.m.