ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Carthage, ranked third in the latest NCAA Division III men's volleyball poll according to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), dealt Augustana a 3-0 defeat on Saturday, March 13 in the Carver Center. The newly named Firebirds took the measure of the home standing Vikings by scores of 25-21; 25-15 and 25-16.
 
Augustana led 16-15 in game one and trailed just 19-18 after a kill by junior outside Caleb Minnis (Downers Grove South HS, Downers Grove, Ill.) off an assist by junior Sanchit Khaitan (Glenbard North HS, Bloomingdale, Ill.). Carthage scored six of the next nine points to take the first set 25-21.
 
Carthage jumped out to a 4-0 lead in set two before the Vikings scored on a kill by Minnis off a Khaitan assist. On the play, however, Minnis suffered an injury and was lost for the match. There was a lengthy delay while Minnis was being attended to. When play resumed Carthage went on to claim a 25-15 win in set two. The third set went to Carthage 25-16.
 
Senior Gary Dodovich (St. Benedict HS, Chicago, Ill.) led Augustana in kills with 10 while senior Justin Murphy (Glenbard East HS, Lombard, Ill.) and sophomore Jarod Hesse (Grayslake North HS, Lake Villa, Ill.) each had five.
 
Khaitan recorded 22 assists and contributed five digs. The leader in digs was senior Bret Kliegl (Neuqua Valley HS, Bolingbrook, Ill.) with eight while freshman Max Seller (Edwardsville HS, Edwardsville, Ill.) had six.
 
Carthage was led in kills by Matt Slivinski with 14.
 
Augustana fell to 6-4 overall and 5-2 in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin while Carthage moved to 11-0 and 7-0. The Vikings will be in action again on March 17 in Decatur, Illinois against Millikin. That match is slated to begin at 6:00 p.m.