Carthage wins 2022 DIII men's volleyball national championship
Carthage takes down Springfield, wins 2022 DIII men's volleyball national championship
Carthage took down Springfield 3-1 in Saturday’s title game to win the 2022 DIII men’s volleyball national championship. It’s the second-straight title win for Carthage.
Carthage dominated in the first two sets, winning them 25-20 and 25-22. Springfield responded with a 25-19 win in set three. The Firebirds won the fourth set, 25-22.
Matt Slivinski led the way in kills for Carthage, posting 17. Gene McNulty's 43 assists also led the team.
Click here for live stats from the match.
With this win, Carthage finishes the season on a 24-game winning streak. Since Jan. 28, the Firebirds never lost more than two sets in a single match. The third set loss in Saturday's title game was the first time they'd lost a set in the NCAA tournament.
Carthage won the 2021 DIII men's volleyball national championship when it defeated Benedictine (IL), 3-2.
Springfield wins set three, trails 2-1
On the brink of losing the match, Springfield came through with a strong third set, winning 25-19, as the Pride trail Carthage 2-1.
It was Carthage's first dropped set in four tournament matches.
Stats through three sets:
| SPRINGFIELD | STAT | Carthage |
|---|---|---|
| 37 | Kills | 39 |
| 12 | Errors | 12 |
| .290 | Percentage | .265 |
| 35 | Assists | 35 |
| 41 | Digs | 36 |
| 2/11 | Serving Aces/Errors | 3/16 |
Carthage takes second set, leads 2-0
Carthage continued its dominance in the second set, taking it 25-22. It leads the national championship game 2-0.
Matt Slivinski leads the way for Carthage in kills with 11.
Second set stats:
| SPRINGFIELD | STAT | Carthage |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Kills | 9 |
| 3 | Errors | 6 |
| .364 | Percentage | .12 |
| 11 | Assists | 9 |
| 8 | Digs | 7 |
| 0/6 | Serving Aces/Errors | 1/6 |
Carthage wins first set for 1-0 lead
Carthage comes out with the opening set win, beating Springfield 25-20 to begin the night.
First set stats:
| SPRINGFIELD | STAT | Carthage |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Kills | 15 |
| 4 | Errors | 3 |
| .303 | Percentage | .308 |
| 13 | Assists | 12 |
| 19 | Digs | 13 |
| 1/2 | Serving Aces/Errors | 0/6 |
Springfield and Carthage face off in 2022 DIII men's volleyball championship game
Both Springfield and Carthage took care of business in the semifinals with 3-0 wins. The two will square off for the 2022 DIII men's volleyball championship tonight at 6 p.m. ET.
Carthage is eyeing its second straight championship, while Springfield is on the cusp of its sixth title and first since 2018.
Tonight's title game begins at 6 p.m. ET from Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wisconsin. It will stream live on NCAA.com, with updates posted here throughout the night.
Carthage will battle Springfield for the title after semifinal sweeps
A pair of sweeps have set up defending champion Carthage with a showdown with Springfield for Saturday's national championship. The match begins at 6 p.m. ET.
Both Carthage and Springfield cruised in their final sets to secure 3-0 wins. Carthage beat Wentworth (25-22, 25-19, 25-11) after Springfield defeated Stevens (25-19, 25-22, 25-13).
The Firebirds beat Benedictine (IL) last year to win its first title. Springfield last won it all in 2018 — its fifth in DIII.
The meeting will make for the second between the two in the finals. They also met in the first DIII championship in 2012.
Carthage goes up 2-0, nears title match
Carthage's hitting hasn't really slowed down, as the Firebirds hit .500 in the second set to win, 25-19.
Matt Slivinski has 10 kills, while Zach Bulthuis (8 kills, .889 hitting) and Carter Schmidt (7 kills, .700 hitting) have added crucial hitting depth.
| CARTHAGE | STAT | WENTWORTH |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Set 2 kills | 14 |
| 2 | Set 2 errors | 4 |
| .500 | Set 2 % | .333 |
| 28 | Total kills | 23 |
| 6 | Total errors | 8 |
| .468 | Total hitting % | .294 |
| 26 | Total assists | 20 |
| 17 | Total digs | 11 |
| 3/8 | Total aces/errors | 4/10 |
Carthage wins first set in second semifinal
It took three set points, but Carthage held off Wentworth 25-22 to win the first set.
Carthage's 14 kills and .435 hitting helped the Firebirds get just enough to win.
| CARTHAGE | STAT | WENTWORTH |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Kills | 9 |
| 4 | Errors | 4 |
| .435 | Percentage | .238 |
| 14 | Assists | 8 |
| 8 | Digs | 5 |
| 3/7 | Serving Aces/Errors | 2/4 |
Springfield sweeps Stevens to advance to national championship
Springfield swept its way through again. The Pride swept their 12th consecutive match, this time taking down Stevens in the national semifinals. Springfield dominated the final set to secure the win (25-19, 25-22, 25-13).
The Pride most recently won the title in 2018, completing a run of consecutive championships. On Friday, Jarrett Anderson, Brennan Brandow and Liam York all finished with nine kills.
Here's how Springfield knocked out Stevens:
| Springfield | Stat | Stevens |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Set 3 kills | 8 |
| 0 | Set 3 errors | 6 |
| .813 | Set 3 % | .100 |
| 36 | Total kills | 33 |
| 6 | Total errors | 24 |
| .380 | Total hitting % | .095 |
| 35 | Total assists | 29 |
| 33 | Total digs | 33 |
| 4/14 | Total aces/errors | 1/10 |
Springfield wins set two, pushes Stevens to brink
Springfield is one set away from advancing to the national championship, taking set 2, 25-22. The Pride have yet to drop a set in the NCAA tournament.
Liam York leads Springfield with seven kills and .500 hitting.
Here's a look at the stats:
| Springfield | Stat | Stevens |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Set 2 kills | 14 |
| 3 | Set 2 errors | 10 |
| .258 | Set 2 % | .103 |
| 23 | Total kills | 25 |
| 6 | Total errors | 18 |
| .270 | Total hitting % | .093 |
| 22 | Total assists | 21 |
| 28 | Total digs | 30 |
| 1/9 | Total aces/errors | 1/8 |
Springfield takes first set for 1-0 lead
Springfield comes out with the opening set win, beating Stevens 25-18 to begin the match.
Kills were very similar, but Springfield's more consistent hitting made the difference, as Stevens had eight attack errors to Springfield's three.
First set stats:
| Springfield | Stat | Stevens |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Kills | 11 |
| 3 | Errors | 8 |
| .281 | Percentage | .083 |
| 11 | Assists | 8 |
| 16 | Digs | 14 |
| 1/5 | Serving Aces/Errors | 0/4 |
Friday's semifinals underway
After tonight, we will know the championship matchup for the DIII men's volleyball tournament. The first semifinal match is happening now, with the second starting shortly after at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Here are the matchups for the semifinals. Click or tap below:
The winners of tonight's games will advance to Saturday's title match at 6 p.m. ET from Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wisconsin. All the semifinal matches can be streamed live on NCAA.com.
4 teams advance after Saturday's quarterfinals
The quarterfinals of the 2022 DIII men's volleyball championship have come to a close, sending four teams on to the semifinals Saturday evening. Here's a look at Saturday's results:
Saturday, April 16 (all times ET):
- Wentworth 3, Rutgers-Newark 1 | Final stats
- Springfield 3, SUNY New Paltz 0 | Final stats
- Stevens 3, St. Joseph's (LI) 1 | Final stats
- Carthage 3, Dominican (IL) 0 | Final stats
The semifinals will take place on April 22 in the Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Semifinal winners will advance to the championship round, set to take place the following night.
Click here to access the full bracket.
Sweeps galore in DIII men's volleyball first round
Springfield looking for its sixth national title
The quest for the 2022 DIII men's volleyball champion began today with eight first-round matchups – five of them being sweeps. Dominican (IL) and North Central (IL) was the only match to reach five sets, with Dominican (IL) advancing.
Friday's scores:
- Springfield 3, Penn State-Behrend 0 | Final stats
- St. Joseph's (LI) 3, Southern Virginia 1 | Final stats
- Rutgers-Newark 3, Baruch 0 | Final stats
- Carthage 3, Mount Union 0 | Final stats
- SUNY New Paltz 3, Marymount (VA) 1 | Final stats
- Stevens 3, Endicott 0 | Final stats
- Wentworth 3, St. John Fisher 0 | Final stats
- Dominican (IL) 3, North Central (IL) 2 | Final stats
Tomorrow's schedule in ET:
- Wentworth vs. Rutgers-Newark, 6 p.m.
- SUNY New Paltz vs. Springfield, 6 p.m.
- St. Joseph's (LI) vs. Stevens, 6 p.m.
- Dominican (IL) vs. Carthage, 7 p.m.
2022 DIII men's volleyball selections announced
The championship field for the 2022 DIII men's volleyball tournament has been announced.