KENOSHA — The Carthage College men's volleyball team knocked off defending national champion Southern Virginia to earn a spot in the NCAA Final Four for the first time since 2022, marking the third appearance under head coach JW Kieckhefer.

• Final Score: No. 3 Carthage 3 - No. 6 Southern Virginia 0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-19)
• Location: Kenosha, Wisconsin - Tarble Arena
• Records: No. 3 Carthage 24-3, No. 6 Southern Virginia 29-6

• A kill from Ryan Bartz pushed Carthage in front, 7-4, early in the opening set.
• Ryan Monahan later added a kill to extend the margin to 12-9.
• After Southern Virginia trimmed the deficit to three, Carthage answered with three straight points—highlighted by kills from Monahan and Bartz and a Joe Kolwicz ace—to build a 22-16 lead.
• A Knight's service error sealed the first set, 25-19.
• Southern Virginia responded in the second, taking an 11-8 advantage behind an ace.
• Consecutive kills later stretched the Knights' lead to six.
• Carthage rallied to even the set at 23, fueled by two Bartz kills.
• Ryan Morey delivered a kill, and Ruben Emmerich followed with a solo block to secure a 25-23 set win.
• The Firebirds opened the third set with an 8-1 run, sparked by a Ben Heise ace.
• Kills from Heise and Hudson Sweitzer extended the lead to 15-8.
• Southern Virginia cut the margin to five, but a block by Emmerich and Heise, along with a Knights attack error, set up match point.
• A final attack error clinched the 25-19 set and sent Carthage to the NCAA Semifinals.

• Carthage had an impressive hitting percentage of .591 in the first set and .400 in the second set. Ryan Bartz led the match with a total of 13 kills, while Ben Heise contributed nine kills.
• Heise also topped the Firebirds in aces, recording three. Additionally, Ruben Emmerich achieved a team-high of six blocks, and Ryan Morey collected 29 assists.

• The Firebirds will face Wittenberg in the NCAA Semifinals on Thursday, April 23, at 6:30 p.m. in Springfield, Mass.