McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team faced a challenging match against North Central College, ranked 19th nationally. The Titans were defeated in straight sets with scores of 25-20, 25-18, and 25-10. This result leaves Illinois Wesleyan with an overall record of 12-9 and a conference record of 2-5 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). North Central improved to an overall record of 11-5 and a CCIW record of 5-2.

Freshman Ethan Kuziela from Chicago led the Titans with ten kills on a .500 attack percentage, making only one error out of 18 attempts. Sophomore Brenden Reutter followed with five kills. Senior Vince DiCosola shared setting responsibilities with Reutter, recording a team-high of 14 assists while Reutter added nine.

Defensively, Kuziela, DiCosola, and sophomore Bryce Williams each had five digs. Senior Jake Kougan was notable for his defensive play as well, contributing two blocks.

The match statistics showed that Illinois Wesleyan trailed in several areas: they had fewer kills (27 compared to NCC's 35), assists (26 compared to NCC's 30), digs (27 compared to NCC's 34), blocks (3 compared to NCC's 8), and aces (3 compared to NCC's 4). The Titans also had a lower hitting percentage at .056 versus North Central’s .342.

During the first set, Illinois Wesleyan took an early lead at 7-4 after a kill by Reutter assisted by Kuziela and an error by North Central. However, despite some successful plays including back-to-back sets by DiCosola leading to points from Jace Milka and Reutter, the Titans lost momentum and dropped the set at 25-20.

In the second set, although trailing initially at 10-5, Illinois Wesleyan rallied back with four consecutive points narrowing the gap to one point. Despite this effort, North Central regained control taking five straight points which led them to win the set at 25-18.

The third set saw Illinois Wesleyan struggle further as they were unable to maintain their earlier efforts resulting in a final score of 25-10 in favor of North Central.

Looking ahead, Illinois Wesleyan will continue their series against top-ranked teams as they travel next Saturday to face Carthage College who is currently ranked fourth nationally. The match is scheduled for March 29 at Tarble Arena with first serve set for 3 p.m.