McLean County Times

After a week of notable achievements, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team secured two of the three College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Player of the Week awards. This marks the first instance in which multiple players from the Titans have been recognized simultaneously. The CCIW made the announcement on Monday, February 10.

Sophomore Brenden Reutter from Frankfort, Illinois, was honored as the setter of the week, while freshman Gavin Rohlwing from Tower Lake, Illinois, received his second consecutive defensive player of the week accolade. They are now part of a select group of IWU athletes who have received this recognition.

Reutter and Rohlwing join past recipients such as Vince DiCosola (April 3, 2023), Mike Eastman (January 24, 2022), and KJ Johnson (January 31, 2022). Since the conference began differentiating between defense and setter categories before the 2024 season, it increased its Player of the Week awards to three categories.

Reutter achieved remarkable success during the week by helping lead his team to a 2-1 record and securing IWU's first victory over a ranked opponent. He recorded two triple-doubles against No. 19 Dominican University and Benedictine University, becoming the only Division III player with such performances this season. Over these matches, Reutter accumulated impressive statistics including 75 assists and a .396 attack percentage.

Meanwhile, Rohlwing has matched IWU's single-season blocks record just 11 matches into his collegiate career. He currently ranks twelfth nationally with an average of 1.13 blocks per set.

The Illinois Wesleyan squad is set to travel to Springfield College for the Morgan Classic on February 14-15. They will compete against Arcadia University on Friday night before facing either No. 7 Springfield or No. 1 NYU on Saturday. The event also marks a return for IWU head coach Brandon Mueller to his alma mater where he previously won two National Championships.