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KENOSHA, WISC. -- Host Carthage defeated Nazareth in three sets 30- 25, 30-21, 30-26 in the consolation match of the Molten Division III Championships. Hans Schroeder earned all-tournament honors with a match-high 16 kills in the loss. In Nazareth's semi-final match against UC-Santa Cruz, Schroeder had a team-high 10 kills, and he also added eight digs and three total blocks.

The Golden Flyers finish the season with a 19-16 overall record. The Red Men, ranked 15th nationally, close the season with a 21-12 record.

Nazareth earned a spot in the Molten Championship for the first time in the Golden Flyers' six seasons of intercollegiate volleyball competition with stunning upsets in the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association tournament last weekend. As the 15th seed, Nazareth's improbable run included wins over second-seeded Baruch (ranked fifth nationally), seventh-seeded Ramapo (ranked 11th nationally), sixth-seeded MIT (ranked seventh nationally), and fourth seeded Philadelphia Biblical (ranked fourth nationally).

In addition to the kills from Schroeder, junior Ellis Walsh added 11 kills and sophomore Billy Gimello had seven kills. Walsh finished with a team-high hitting percentage of .450. Freshman Robert Kraft chipped in with five kills while juniors Chris Mendez and Will Siwy finished with three kills apiece.

Freshmen #E.J. Wells-Spicer and Dan Mowery# tallied 40 assists and 16 digs, respectively. Gimello also contributed 13 digs for the Golden Flyers.

Carthage took control of the match by forcing Nazareth into hitting errors with blocks or forcing Nazareth players to adjust their attacks. The Golden Flyers hitting percentages of .214 in the first set, -.053 in the second set, and .209 in the third set. The Red Men finished with 18 total blocks, led by Jon Condon with eight blocks. Randy Hansen had a team-high 14 kills for Carthage, followed by Matt Yanz, who tallied 12 kills.

The Red Men led through most of the first set, allowing Nazareth to only tie the score temporarily at 10-10 and 12-12. The Golden Flyers, though, remained close until Carthage tallied six out of seven points to stretch a 15-14 edge into a 21-15 advantage. The Red Men used four kills, a block, and a Golden Flyers' service error to build the separation.

In the second set, the Golden Flyers held an early lead, 3-1, following a kill by Walsh and a hitting error by Carthage. The Red Men, however, claimed the lead for good a few points later following a kill by Matt Yanz. After trailing by five points, Nazareth rallied to cut its deficit to three points, 18-15, following back-to-back kills by Schroeder. Carthage answered again with a quick 5-2 scoring run to take a 23-17 lead. The teams traded points, but the Red Men seized the momentum with a 4-0 scoring run to win the set.

Nazareth stayed in striking distance of Carthage through most of the third set, never trailing by more than two points until the Red Men scored five straight points, which gave Carthage a 20-14 lead. The gritty Golden Flyers answered with a 3-0 run to cut the Red Men's lead in half as Walsh tallied a kill and Wells-Spicer recorded an ace. The third point of the run came from a Carthage hitting error. The teams traded points much of the remainder of the set. The Golden Flyers fought off two set points with a kill by Siwy and forcing Carthage into a hitting error, but the Red Men converted on their third opportunity.