SALEM, VA  - Playing for the fourth time in four days, the Benedictine University men's volleyball team nearly did the impossible but fell just short in a five-set loss to top-ranked Carthage in the national title game.

FINAL SCORE
#1 Carthage 3, #7 Benedictine 2
23-25, 25-17, 20-25, 26-24, 15-10

THE DETAILS
- Benedictine twice led by a set, but Carthage was able to rally for the win
- Carthage jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the opening set
- A kill from Martin Radomski followed by consecutive errors from Carthage allowed Benedictine to come back and tie the set and start the back-and-forth nature of the match
- Benedictine trailed 16-13 before a kill from Chase Olson opened the door to a stretch that saw Benedictine score four-of-five to tie the contest
- Down 22-21, Jacob Grygo opened a run of three straight points with a kill to bring up set point and Olson ended the set moments later
- Benedictine led briefly in the second set before Carthage pulled away in the middle to even the contest
- A service ace from Mike LeGros helped Benedictine to the early edge in the third
- Kills from Nathan Klimisch, LeGros and Grygo helped Benedictine open a 13-8 edge
- Olson recorded an ace as Benedictine reached 20 first at 20-13 before Carthage responded with four in a row to battle within 20-17
- Two errors put Benedictine within a set of a national title
- The fourth set was nip-and-tuck with the teams trading points and runs
- Grygo fended off a set point with a kill before Carthage notched the next two to even the match
- The consensus top-ranked team in the nation set the tone early in the fifth as Benedictine never led
- Carthage scored three straight after Benedictine pulled within 10-8 and Benedictine fended off one match point before a kill handed Carthage the title
- Carthage had lost just one set all year before the title match but finished the season with a perfect 23-0 record
- The matchup marked the first time two teams from the Midwest had matched up for the title and just the second and third times Midwest teams had ever reached the final
- The match marked the first NCA Division III Championship to go all five sets
- Carthage did not make an error in the fifth set, hitting .611 and also hit .536 in the second
- LeGros and Olson were named to the All-Tournament team

STAT LEADERS
KILLS: Grygo (20), Olson (12), Klimisch (10)
BLOCKS: Grygo (3)
ASSISTS: LeGros (46)
DIGS: Martin Radomski (15), Grygo (10), Thomas Samaras (9)

RECORD
Benedictine finished the year 16-4 and will bring home some second place hardware to add to the trophy case

POSTGAME INTERVIEW