ROCK ISLAND – The Augustana Vikings men's volleyball team returns to the Carver Center on Wednesday, March 15 for a conference matchup against the No. 6 Carthage Firebirds.

Augie is 10-6 overall and 1-2 in the CCIW, most recently defeating the Illinois Wesleyan Titans 3-0 on the road Saturday by set scores of 25-18, 25-21, 25-20. The Vikings won the first set by seven points, collecting six of the final eight points to take a 1-0 advantage in the series. The second game saw a 16-16 deadlock before a 9-4 run from Augustana put the Vikings ahead by two in the contest. Augie was behind 6-4 in the final set but rattled off nine of the next eleven points. Illinois Wesleyan closed the gap to one point four times, the most recent at 19-18, but Augie's 6-2 burst late in the set sealed the sweep. 

The Vikings hit at a .382 clip on their attacks, with Ben Schultz leading the team in kills with 14, followed by Zach Moreano and Sean Carlson with nine apiece. Aiden Bond was the team leader with seven digs, while Matthew Degnan paced Augie with 37 assists. 

Carthage enters Wednesday's contest with a 12-4 record, most recently losing their 10-match win streak with a defeat at the hands of No. 10 North Central. The Firebirds lost by set scores of 25-21, 25-22, 25-18 in Naperville, snapping a nine-match win streak against the Cardinals dating back to 2019. Zach Bulthuis had a team-high eight kills in the losing effort, while the team hit .213 on their attack attempts. 

Carthage holds a 9-0 advantage in the all-time series over the Vikings. The back-to-back national champions grabbed two 3-0 victories against Augie last season. Bond and Josh Van Essen led the assault with five kills each in their first meeting, while Aidan Bolen got four in the season's second contest.

Start time from the Roy J. Carver Center is set for 7:00 p.m. Stream link for the conference bout can be found here.