Kenosha, Wis.—The Dominican University Men's Volleyball team jumps right into a back-to-back after beating Thiel in the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship.

Series History vs. Carthage:
All-Time Record / Streak: 5-13 / L3
-Dominican and Carthage first played on 2/26/2014, with the Firebirds winning in straight sets.
-DU and Carthage met up on March 14th of this season at Carthage, where the Firebirds won in straight sets.
-The Stars have beaten Carthage at Carthage in the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship before, that was on 4/22/2018. DU won 3-1 and advanced to the final four after beating the Firebirds.
-Dominican is 4-6 in their last 10 matchups and 3-6 at Carthage.
 
DU in Review:
-DU is 23-5 (10-2 NACC) (14-2 Home) (6-3 Road) (2-0 Neutral) on the 2026 season.
-The Stars finished the 2025 season with a 14-11 record and went 9-3 in conference.
-Dominican spent the preseason abroad in Italy, Croatia, and Slovenia to tune up for the 2026 campaign.
-The 2026 season marks the 3^rd season with Head Coach Doug Burchett at the helm. Burchett has amassed a 33-19 record since becoming head coach at Dominican.
 
Last Time Out:
 -The #15 Dominican University Stars played Thiel in the play-in round of the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship. The Stars got the better of the Tomcats, winning 3-0.
-Sophomore Kendall Esparza led the Stars' attack with 11 kills on .455 hitting, along with an ace and 4 digs.
-Graduate Student Casey Goss totaled 10 kills on .438 hitting, an ace, and 4 digs.
-Junior Thomas Hirsch registered 7 kills on .778 hitting, 2 aces, and 3 blocks.
-Junior Ty Geschke notched 4 kills, a solo block, and 3 digs.
-Sophomore Landon Kassulke collected 23 assists, 2 blocks, 3 kills, and 3 digs in the win.
-Junior Grant Henderson led DU with 11 digs.

Dominican's History in the NCAA Championships:
 -The Stars are 5-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, with their deepest run coming in 2018.
-DU's pod consists of Carthage (host), Thiel, Southern Virginia, and Loras. A link to the official bracket can be found here.
 
Stars Win Fifth NACC Tournament Title:
 -Dominican earned its fifth NACC Tournament Title on Sunday, the most out any program in the conference.
-DU will carry a ten-match win streak into the NCAA Tournament, their longest win streak since its 21 wins in a row from February 8^th to April 15^th, 2022.


Shining Stars:
-Junior Ty Geschke has led the attack for the Stars, totaling 326 kills for 3.26 kills per set. Geschke has added 163 digs and 33 blocks during the 2026 season. The junior finished 3^rd in the conference in kills and was named to the NACC All-Conference First Team and NACC All-Tournament Team.
-Sophomore Kendall Esparza is 2^nd on Dominican in kills with 293, which averages to 2.93 kills per set. The sophomore leads the Stars and the NACC in aces with 51. Esparza joined Geschke on the NACC All-Conference First Team and NACC All-Tournament Team.
-Junior Thomas Hirsch has been lights out through the middle for the Stars, tallying 254 kills and a conference-leading 102.0 blocks. Hirsch also leads the nation in hitting percentage at .471. The Boise, Idaho, native was on the All-Conference First Team and All-Tournament Team, as well as AVCA All-Region.
-Sophomore Landon Kassulke is the leading playmaker for Dominican, notching 1010 assists for 10.00 assists per set, which ranks as the highest mark in the NACC. Kassulke was named to the NACC All-Conference second team.
-Graduate Student Casey Goss rounds out the top four attackers for the Stars, posting 223 kills in 28 matches played. Goss received NACC All-Conference Honorable Mention.
-Junior Grant Henderson has held down the back row for DU, totaling a team-high 227 digs. The junior was named NACC Tournament MVP.
 
Familiar Faces:
-Junior Ty Geschke returns from a strong Sophomore season. Geschke led the Stars in kills (275) and kills per set (3.62), was second in aces (56), and was third in blocks (38.0).
-Graduate Student Casey Goss will assume his place as the starting opposite hitter for DU, following up a Senior season that included 165 kills, 47 aces, and 22 blocks.
-Sophomore Kendall Esparza is back to don the Navy and Gold and looks to build upon a Freshman season of 82 kills, 23 aces, 45 digs, and 9 starts.
-Senior Michael Greco, Junior Thomas Hirsch, and Freshman Landon Diaz look to solidify the middle blocking position for Dominican. Hirsch led all middle blockers with 96 kills, while Greco led the 2025 squad in blocks with 44.0.
-Senior Tyler Vrska and Junior Grant Henderson return as the DS duo for the Stars. Henderson led DU with 126 digs last season, while Vrska finished fourth with 112.
 
Scouting Report:
-Carthage is 22-3 (9-1 CCIW) on the 2026 season.
-The Firebirds are currently ranked #3 in the nation and were ranked at #1 for a part of the 2026 season.
-Carthage is riding a 6-game winning streak and beat North Central and Illinois Wesleyan to secure the CCIW conference tournament title.
-The Firebirds average 13.2 kills per set and have hit .327 as a team. Carthage also records 10.2 digs per set and 1.9 blocks per set.