By Emily Anastasio
Under the bright lights of Blake Arena on Thursday night, the Carthage College Firebirds swept Wittenberg University three sets to none, punching their ticket to their first national championship match in four years. With dominating performances from Ryan Morey, Ben Heise and Ryan Bartz, the Firebirds are looking strong ahead of their championship matchup this evening. The team that they will be facing though? The number one ranked team in the country, and a familiar foe to Carthage.
The Springfield College Pride and the Carthage Firebirds have quite an interesting and rich rivalry, squaring off in several tournament matches and national championships. In the very first NCAA Division III men’s volleyball national championship in 2012, the Firebirds and the Pride met for the first time on such a prestigious level, with Springfield taking the title in its home arena. A decade later, the two legendary programs met once more, this time in Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with Carthage winning their second consecutive national title.
Earlier in the week, senior setter Ryan Morey spoke about how he and the team could be “seeking a little bit of revenge” after losing a hard-fought battle to Springfield last season in the elite eight round of the tournament. With their final four victory, the Firebirds now have the chance to achieve that goal.
Carthage head coach JW Kieckhefer spoke very highly of Springfield and Pride head coach Charlie Sullivan during the post-match press conference, highlighting what it meant to him to renew such a storied rivalry with Springfield.
“Springfield-Carthage has been a rivalry forever in Division III men’s volleyball, but these guys (Heise and Ruben Emmerich) only had that experience last year,” Kieckhefer said. “I think when that last ball fell last year, it just really felt like we’re going to wait 365 days to play the same match.”
Tonight’s rubber match between two giants of Division III men’s volleyball is going to be one to remember. With legendary head coaches, star players and a rivalry written in the stars all on the court of Blake Arena, fans everywhere have much to look forward to.
(Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)