Men’s Volleyball Season Ends With Loss to Carthage in NCAA Division III Tournament Semis

SPRINGFIELD, MA – An incredible run by Wittenberg's Men's Volleyball team came to a close as the Tigers ran into a hot-hitting team from Carthage, falling 3-0 in the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Thursday, April 23, at Blake Arena on the campus of Springfield College.

Distributing the wealth evenly on offense, the Firebirds, ranked No. 3 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll, defeated Wittenberg in straight sets by scores of 25-16, 25-18, and 25-19, breaking the Tigers' 14-match win streak.

"Props to a really, really solid Carthage team. I think they will make it a great match on Saturday," Head Coach Jamie Peterson said. "Overall, I'm just really proud of this group; how they battled over the last few weeks. I think we surprised people, but I will continue to say that they have not surprised me. We knew that this was possible back in August when we started changing the layout of our program. From the outside looking in, maybe it was a surprise, but from my perspective, I'm not surprised at all. I'm just very proud of them – a historic season."

Carthage, which has not dropped a set since March 21, continued to sweep its way through the tournament and will now face the host team, Springfield College, ranked No. 1, in the finals on Saturday, April 25, beginning at 7 p.m. The Firebirds are now 7-0 against Wittenberg since the teams' first meeting in 2016, the Tigers' first year as an intercollegiate program.

The Tigers stayed close in set one, matching the Firebirds point-for-point for the first half. Carthage went up 14-12 and then went on an 11-4 run for the win. Wittenberg jumped out to a 10-6 lead in set two before the Firebirds turned things up a notch and went on a 5-1 run to tie things at 11-all. From there, Carthage outscored Wittenberg 14-7 to take the commanding lead. With the momentum in its favor, Carthage jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the final set and never looked back. The Firebirds, now 25-3 overall after winning the Collegiate Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) regular season and tournament championships, outhit Wittenberg by a .488 to .264 margin.

Senior Michael Yurk (Indianapolis, IN / Bishop Chatard) led Wittenberg in kills with 10, and Eli Halverson (Hamilton, OH / Badin) added eight. Carson Hill (Liberty Township, OH / Lakota East) led the team in assists with 13, and Gavin Hagerty (Fishers, IN / Fishers) added 13. Yurk and Hagerty each had four digs. Reese Monnin (Xenia, OH / Carroll) led the team in blocks with two.

"This is special, and we are just trying to soak it all in," Halverson said. "It's a special group – it certainly hurts a lot (the loss), but the stuff we did over the last month – it will be remembered in 50, 60, forever years. We will always be connected by this. It's a really special thing that I'm proud to be a part of."

The loss caps off a phenomenal season for the Tigers, who close at 24-6 overall, with their first-ever tournament appearance. Their historic run turned a lot of heads and landed Peterson some well-deserved individual recognition as she was recently selected as the NCAA Division III Coach of the Year by the AVCA.

The team also experienced a lot of firsts  - first NCAA Division III Tournament appearance and wins; first Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) Tournament title; and first appearance in AVCA top-20 national rankings (No. 12 this week). The fourth head coach in program history, Peterson has compiled an overall record of 30-9 since taking over midway through the 2025 season.

The Tigers captured a share of the MCVL regular season title in 2026 for the third time in the last four years before breaking through in the conference tournament with a thrilling 3-2 win over Calvin on April 11. The next week, the Tigers toppled three ranked opponents for the first time in program history, extending a now program-record 14-match winning streak and pushing the 2026-win total to 24, easily exceeding the previous high of 21.

Team Comparison

• Wittenberg had 27 kills on 72 total attacks for a .264 hitting percentage, along with 26 assists, two service aces, 19 digs, and three blocks.
• Carthage registered 50 kills on 84 total attacks for a .488 hitting percentage, along with 46 assists, seven service aces, 32 digs, and five blocks.

Written by Cindy Holbrook and Ryan Maurer