KENOSHA — The No. 5 Carthage College men's volleyball team controlled the tempo early and answered every push from No. 4 Cal Lutheran, claiming a four-set victory at home. The Firebirds won the opening two sets, regrouped after a narrow third-set loss, and closed the match convincingly behind balanced offense and timely blocks.

• Final Score: No. 5 Carthage 3 - No. 4 Cal Lutheran 1 (25-18, 25-18, 23-25, 25-18)
• Location: Kenosha, Wisconsin - Tarble Arena
• Records: No. 5 Carthage 10-2, No. 4 Cal Lutheran 13-3 

• Carthage jumped out quickly, building an 11-5 advantage behind early kills from Ben Heise and Ryan Bartz.
• A later kill by Ruben Emmerich stretched the lead to 21-14.
• Hudson Sweitzer recorded a pair of late kills to help secure the opening set 25-18.
• The Firebirds carried that energy into the second as a Bartz service ace created a 12-6 lead.
• Bartz followed with consecutive kills for an 18-9 edge before Cal Lutheran scored six straight to pull within three.
• Carthage responded, and a final kill from Sweitzer sealed another 25-18 set win.
• Cal Lutheran opened the third set ahead 10-7 and maintained a small advantage for much of the frame.
• A block by Bartz and Emmerich cut the deficit to 19-17.
• Bartz added a solo block to bring Carthage within one, but a service error ended the set in favor of the visitors, 25-23.
• The Firebirds answered immediately in the fourth, racing to a 14-3 run.
• Erik Stover later contributed a kill that extended the lead to double digits.
• Cal Lutheran trimmed the margin to six, but kills from Bartz and Heise finished the match with a 25-18 set victory.

• Ben Heise recorded a match-high 15 kills, marking his second consecutive game with 15 kills. 
• Ryan Bartz closely followed with 14 kills and contributed four aces along with four combined blocks. Hudson Sweitzer added 10 kills to the team's effort. 
• Ryan Morey achieved 45 assists in the match, while both Owen Hendricks and Austin Mallory each recorded 10 digs.

• Carthage returns to conference action playing North Park on Wednesday, February 25, at 7 p.m.