KENOSHA, Wis. – No. 4 Cal Lutheran men's volleyball closed out its Midwest trip on Saturday with a split at Tarble Arena, falling 3-1 to No. 5 Carthage before bouncing back with a sweep over Lakeland.

The Kingsmen move to 14-3 overall and now turn their attention to a second NCAA Division I test on Friday night.

GAME ONE: Carthage def. CLU (18-25, 18-25, 25-23, 18-25)
The Firebirds dictated the tempo throughout the opener, hitting an impressive .417 as a team while holding Cal Lu to a Division III season-low .145 clip. Carthage was especially sharp in the first two sets, swinging .400 and .636, respectively, to build a commanding 2-0 advantage.

The Kingsmen responded with resilience in the third, jumping out to a 6-1 lead behind three straight kills from Tyler Linville and maintaining control late to extend the match with a 25-23 win. However, Carthage quickly regained momentum in the fourth using an early 14-3 run to create separation and close out the contest.

Linville led the Kingsmen with 12 kills, while Brendan Hom added 11 and three service aces. Connor Crawford totaled six kills and eight digs, and Mason Rowell contributed three block assists at the net. Gavin Galanski recorded 22 assists, Garrett Ream added 10, and Braden Gonzales anchored the back row with a match-high 13 digs.

GAME TWO: CLU def. Lakeland (25-15, 25-18, 25-23)
The Kingsmen wasted no time regrouping, hitting .333 as a team in a straight-set sweep of Lakeland.

CLU set the tone early, swinging at a .455 clip with just two errors in the opening frame and comfortably controlling the first two sets. The Muskies mounted a late push in the third, pulling within one point in the closing stages, but the Kingsmen answered with kills from Crawford and Nathan Diaz, along with a pair of Lakeland service errors, to seal the 25-23 finish.

Hom paced the offense with eight kills and three aces, while Crawford matched him with eight kills and added three total blocks. Matthew Wilcox was active at the net with four block assists and two service aces, and Aidan Godfrey provided a spark off the bench, hitting .750 with three kills and two aces. Keaton Hendry, Galanski, and Ream combined for 38 assists in their split setting effort, while Gonzales led the team with nine digs.

UP NEXT
Cal Lutheran returns to action on Friday with a road matchup against NCAA Division I foe CSUN. First serve is set for 6 p.m. in Northridge.