Carthage (23-0) won the NCAA Division III men's volleyball championship on Saturday with a thrilling five-set victory against Benedictine. It is the first national title in 126 years for the school.
All-American Matt Slivinski was named tournament MVP after putting down 22 kills, while Zach Bulthuis and Carter Schmidt each added 17. Gene McNulty handed out a career-best 61 assists.
In the final set, Carthage started with a 4-1 advantage following an Eagles attack error. Carthage went ahead 8-4 on a kill from Bulthuis, however, Benedictine got within two with an ace. Slivinski added a kill, putting the Firebirds up 11-8 before another strike by Schmidt made it 13-8 for Carthage. A kill from Slivinski and a final shot by Schmidt gave the Firebirds the victory 15-10.
>> What They're Saying: "We were just trying to survive pretty much all match," head coach JW Kieckhefer said. "I'm just really proud of the fight we have. ... We have only lost one set all year, and to go down 0-1 and 1-2, and to never stop believing in our brand of volleyball and to never stop believing in each other ... it was just so impressive. It was such a team win."
>> Notable: It is the first time in championship history that a final went to the full five sets.
>> Notable II: It is the first time that two "western" schools met for the NCAA title.
The NCAA will allow up to 50% fan capacity for its 2021 outdoor spring championships and Division I fall championships being held in the spring, based on recommendations from the NCAA COVID-19 Medical Advisory Group.
The latest fan attendance policy will begin April 28 and 29 with the Division I Men’s and Women’s Soccer Championship and May 1 and 2 with Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinal games.
Exact capacity percentages will vary by site, depending on state and local health mandates due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Winter championship COVID-19 testing protocols will remain in place throughout the remaining championships.
Case Western Reserve (d. Oberlin, 9-0, 8-1; d. #12 Wooster, 8-1, 8-1)
Washington, Mo. (d. #7 UW-Whitewater, 9-0)
Northeast
Williams (d. #2 Wesleyan, 8-1; d. Hamilton, 9-0)
Wesleyan (lost to #1 Williams, 8-1)
Brandeis (d. #4 Tufts, 6-3)
West
Trinity (Colorado C, ppd)
Southwestern
George Fox (Linfield, ppd)
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RECAP
6. Weekend Stars
Baseball
Grove City RHP Tate Ostrowski tossed a seven-inning perfect game as the Wolverines (17-7) defeated Bethany, 8-0, on Friday. He struck out 10 men for the first perfect game in modern Grove City baseball history, which dates to 1959.
Grinnell RHP Brock Weirather matched Ostrowski by tossing a seven-inning perfect game in the Pioneers' 13-0 win against Knox. He fanned 14 in his gem.
Buena Vista stunned top-ranked Washington U. twice on Saturday, downing the Bears, 8-2 and 3-1. Senior Tyler Tennyson got the job done with both the arm and the bat in the opener as he tossed 7.1 innings, scattering six hits and allowing just two runs. He also went 4-for-5 at the plate with a double and three RBI.
Lacrosse
UMass Boston's Jack Dobrzynski won 36 of 38 face-offs in the Beacons' win against Western Connecticut. The total tied the all-divisions NCAA record set by Hudson Bearden of Southwestern.
Softball
Clarkson 3B Kayla Robert had her 28-game hitting streak snapped in the nightcap of a doubleheader with Ithaca on Friday. The streak was tied for the 15th longest since 1982 in DIII history. Moravian's Heather Bortz holds the record at 44 games from April 15, 2003 to April 17, 2004.
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