Quincy 3, Carthage 1
The Carthage College men's volleyball team (11-4, 2-1 Continental Volleyball Conference), ranked third in the March 6 American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll, lost to Quincy University (15-8), 3-1, on Friday, March 9 at Pepsi Arena in Quincy, Ill. The Hawks' winning set scores over the Red Men were 24-26, 25-22, 25-20 and 26-24.
Carthage took a 26-24 victory in the first set, as the Red Men narrowly out-hit the Hawks .351 (17 kills and 4 errors on 37 attempts) to .324 (16 kills and 5 errors on 34 attempts). Both teams struggled to find the floor in the second set with hitting percentages sinking into the 100s. However, Quincy held the edge in hitting percentage and evened the match with a 25-22 decision. In the third set, the Hawks exploded with 19 kills and a .412 team hitting percentage behind an offensive onslaught from Ryan Lehmann
, who had nine kills and hit .615. Meanwhile, the Hawks defense held the Red Men to just 10 kills and a .172 hitting percentage. The fourth set saw Red Men pick up their offense and record 14 kills, but the Hawks would continue to fly high as they recorded 17 kills. Quincy took the set, 26-24, on back-to-back blocks by John Pranger.
Ryan Lehmann led the Hawks with 19 kills and a .467 attack percentage. Joe Sokol had 14 kills and hit. 407, while Joe Ascher and Steven Battaglia collected 11 kills each.
Randy Hansen (Sr., Oak Lawn, Ill.) paced Carthage with 19 kills and a .237 attack percentage, along with three block assists.
Pat Barry (So., Skokie, Ill./Wilmette-Loyola Academy) had 12 kills and hit .286, while
Matt Yanz collected 10 kills with a .562 mark. Setter
Connor Wexter (So., New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) averaged 11.25 assists per set.
Following the Quincy match, the Red Men journey on to Fontbonne University for the Saturday-Sunday, March 10-11 Fontbonne Tournament at Maybee Gymnasium in St. Louis, Mo. Carthage plays No. 5 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Saturday, March 10 at 1 p.m. and Thiel College at 6 p.m. On Sunday, March 11, the Red Men take on Fontbonne at 10 a.m. and Lindenwood University at Noon.
