McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team faced a challenging day at the IWU Triangular III, competing in two five-set matches on Sunday, February 9. The Titans, now holding a 9-3 record, initially fell to Benedictine University with scores of 16-25, 27-25, 22-25, 28-26, and 16-14. They later secured a victory against Wabash College in another five-set match.

In the first match against Benedictine University (5-4), sophomore Brenden Reutter achieved his second consecutive triple-double with 28 assists, 12 digs, and a career-high of both 11 kills and five blocks. Sophomore Bryce Williams contributed with a double-double of 15 kills and 12 digs. Freshman Ethan Kuziela led the team with 17 kills on a .389 hitting percentage.

Junior Jace Milka recorded a season-high of 20 digs and freshman Gavin Rohlwing led the team with seven blocks. Senior Vince DiCosola added four aces along with his contributions in assists and digs.

Illinois Wesleyan outperformed Benedictine in attacking percentage (.244 compared to .173) but trailed in blocks (14-9) and service aces (9-8). The Titans also held an advantage in digs (63-56).

In their second match against Wabash College (8-1), Williams delivered an outstanding performance with 21 kills on a .645 clip. Reutter provided nine kills alongside his other contributions while DiCosola had the most assists for the team. Rohlwing once again led defensively at the net.

The Titans dominated several statistical categories over Wabash including kills (62-54), hitting percentage (.361-.214), assists (55-50), aces (6-4), and blocks (10-8). However, Wabash led in digs (45-36).

Illinois Wesleyan will next compete at the Morgan Classic hosted by Springfield College starting February 14 where they will face Arcadia University followed by either No.7 Springfield or No.1 NYU on February 15.