McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team concluded its season at home with a loss to Carthage College. The match, held at Shirk Center on March 27, ended with scores of 27-25, 25-19, and 25-17 in favor of Carthage. This result leaves the Titans with an overall record of 10-13 and a conference record of 1-7 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Carthage improved their standing to 13-5 overall and 6-1 in league play.

Michael Eastman led the Titans with 14 kills on a .314 attack percentage. Freshman Bryce Williams contributed 12 kills, just one shy of his career high, on a .348 attack percentage. Brenden Reutter was the top assister for Illinois Wesleyan with 17 assists, followed by Bradley Benson who added 12 assists.

Defensively, Reutter and Williams each recorded eight digs while Jace Milka added six. Julian Perez managed two blocks at the net for Illinois Wesleyan.

Statistically, IWU was close to Carthage in terms of kills (41-37) and assists (40-34), with both teams finishing with 31 digs each. However, Carthage had a significant advantage in blocks, leading IWU by ten (12-2). The Firebirds hit .419 as a team compared to IWU's .183.

The Titans began strong with Kougan and Eastman delivering back-to-back kills leading to an early lead but couldn't maintain momentum against Carthage's comeback efforts. Despite some competitive exchanges throughout the sets, IWU was unable to secure a set win.

Illinois Wesleyan will face North Central College next on April 3.