Kenosha, Wis. – No. 15 Dominican University Men's Volleyball faced off against No. 3 Carthage College in the First Round of the NCAA DIII Men's Volleyball Championships on Friday.
 
Results:
No. 15 Dominican: 0
No. 3 Carthage: 3

How it Happened:
-To begin the match, a pair of aces by Sophomore Kendall Esparza helped power the Stars to an early 5-3 advantage.
-DU was able to hold the Firebirds at bay, as Dominican maintained a lead at 11-9 after a Carthage error.
-The Firebirds then began to roll offensively, with the Stars falling behind 22-13.
-Graduate Student Casey Goss and Sophomore Landon Diaz both posted two kills to get the DU offense out of its funk, but the Stars ended up dropping the opening set by a score of 25-19. Goss posted 3 kills in the first.
-The Stars shook off the first and kept pace with the Carthage offense in the opening stages of the second.
-Side-outs via Goss and Junior Thomas Hirsch broke up the Firebirds' momentum, as DU trailed 15-12.
-Dominican continued to capitalize on Carthage's errors to stay within striking distance.
-Trailing 21-14, Goss went on a 5-0 run, which included an ace and a kill, to bring the score to 21-19 and force a Firebird timeout.
-The Stars could not complete the comeback effort in the second, falling by a score of 25-20. Hirsch had a pair of kills and a block in Set 2.
-DU continued to apply pressure on Carthage, as an attacking error by the Firebirds gave Dominican a 7-5 lead.
-Both squads then traded side-outs to the midpoint of the third set, with the Stars still holding a 13-11 advantage.
-After Carthage knotted up the set at 18-18, Freshman Austin Rynberg notched a big kill to stop the pressure.
-In the end, the Stars' full-out effort was not enough as Dominican's season came to an end, dropping the third set by a score of 25-21.

Shining Stars:
-Graduate Student Casey Goss had a phenomenal match in his final time in the Navy and Gold, posting a team-high 12 kills on .364, 2 aces, and another team-high in digs with 10.
-Junior Ty Geschke recorded 6 kills and 3 digs.
-Sophomore Landon Diaz notched 3 kills and a solo block.
-Sophomore Landon Kassulke totaled 24 assists, 7 digs, and 3 blocks.

  Leading the Way:
  Kills: Goss (12)
  Aces: Goss and Esparza (2)
  Blocks: Kassulke (3)
  Assists: Kassulke (24)
  Digs: Goss (10)

What's Next:
No. 15 Dominican University Men's Volleyball concluded the 2026 season with a 23-6 overall record, a 10-2 record in the NACC, and a 14-2 record inside the Igini Sports Forum. DU's 23 wins is the most the program has had in a season since the 2022 campaign.

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