Repeat NCAA title cements Firebirds' elite status

This settles it: The first time was no fluke.

Carthage repeated as the NCAA Division III men’s volleyball champion this past spring, beating top-ranked Springfield (Massachusetts) College to secure the title. To head coach JW Kieckhefer, the second one tasted even sweeter than the first.

Sure, he understands the significance of last year’s historic achievement. By winning Carthage’s first national championship in any team sport, the 2021 Firebirds etched their place in campus lore.

But consider the circumstances: Instead of an empty arena hundreds of miles away, the 2022 Firebirds got to seal the deal in front of a fired-up home crowd. Carthage hosted the Final Four, smashing the attendance record as an estimated 4,200 fans packed Tarble Arena over two days of competition.

In a sense, by going back-to-back, this year’s squad got two trophies for the price of one. The second title affirmed the legitimacy of the first, erasing an asterisk that others in volleyball circles had unfairly attached to it.

“Plenty of people told us, ‘It was a COVID year. That one didn’t count,’” Coach Kieckhefer said. “To do it this way against a team everybody else thought was the best team in the country … nobody can take this away from us and pretend it wasn’t real.”

EARLY OBSTACLES

Unlike last season’s unit, which steamrolled to an undefeated season, the 2022 Firebirds had to muster some resiliency. After opening the season with three straight losses, they recovered to sweep their final 24 matches.

The biggest one came against the biggest name in D-III men’s volleyball. Springfield has built something of a dynasty, winning 11 national championships — most recently in 2018, the first time the Carthage campus welcomed the Final Four.

This time, the host Firebirds refused to let someone else cut down the net, humbling the Pride in four sets April 23. Taking advantage of an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19 disruptions, outside hitter Matt Slivinski ’22 repeated as NCAA tournament MVP.

The players got to share the moment with plenty of familiar faces. President John Swallow covered the admission cost for all Carthage students who turned out to support the home team.

Three other holdovers from the 2021 championship squad joined Matt on the All- America first team: middle blocker Zach Bulthuis ’23, libero Kyle Cohan ’22, and setter Gene McNulty ’24. Among the reinforcements, middle blocker David Markes ’24 was voted Newcomer of the Year. The accolades spread beyond the volleyball court. Zach became Carthage’s first-ever recipient of the Elite 90 Award, which the NCAA presents for true excellence in both athletics and academics.

As a triple major (mathematics, finance, and datat science) with a 4.0 GPA, he has plenty of commitments to balance.

“Nevertheless, when that final ball was hit out of bounds and that relief set in, at that moment, everything the team and I had done to get to that point became worth it,” Zach said. “The amount of hard work and determination that I saw throughout the year within our team and coaches justified the struggles that we faced all year long.”