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Julian perez at Rockford
Kodiak Creative
2
Rockford Rock 0-5,0-0 NACC
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 2-1,0-0 CCIW
Rockford Rock
0-5,0-0 NACC
2
Final
3
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
2-1,0-0 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Rockford Rock 26 25 24 24 10 (2)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 24 19 26 26 15 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

Men’s Volleyball Completes Comeback to Win Home Opener Against Rockford

Johnson set program record with 27 digs

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team upended Rockford University in a five-set thriller at the Shirk Center Tuesday night, Jan. 25. After the Regents (0-5) claimed the first two sets by scores of 26-24 and 25-19, the Titans (2-1) stormed back to take the next three 26-24, 26-24, and 15-10.

Sophomore Julian Perez (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg) was tremendous offensively for the Green and White, racking up a career-high 20 kills on a .341 attacking percentage. Sophomore KJ Johnson (Saint John, Ind.-Marian Catholic) added a 13-kill, 27-dig double-double, while also tallying three aces. Freshman Ryan Myers (Hawthorn Woods, Ill.-Stevenson) and Luke Hartke (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington) added nine kills apiece. 

Freshman Vince DiCosola (Aurora, Ill.-Oswego East) and sophomore Dominic Bennett (Lockport, Ill.-Plainfield Central) orchestrated the attack. DiCosola tallied a program record 31 assists, with Bennett notching 15. 

Defensively, Johnson's career-high 27 digs, which also broke his own program record, led the way. He was one of four Titans to finish with double-digit digs as Hartke recorded 19 digs, sophomore Blake McGlashan-Bryant (Hawthorne, Calif.-Mira Costa) was credited with 14, and DiCosola contributed 12. 

IWU finished with 58 kills on 188 attempts, good for a .138 clip, while RU finished with 47 kills on 182 attempts (.093). The Green and White tallied a slim 88-87 lead in digs and out-blocked the Regents 12-6.

The Titans saw a five-point lead slip away in the opening set as Rockford evened the score at 18 all. The set saw the score tied nine times before RU broke a 24-24 deadlock with back-to-back points to take the set, 26-24. 

After Rockford claimed the second set 25-19, Illinois Wesleyan fought its way back in a wild third set. The Regents led by as many as seven, before an ace by DiCosola cut the Rockford lead to one, 21-20. Following a RU timeout, Hartke and fellow freshman Jake Kougan (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) combined for a block. The Regents reclaimed a 24-23 lead, but a service error out of an IWU timeout made way for the Green and White's comeback. Sophomore Javier Romano (Prospect Heights, Ill.-Wheeling) and Myers came up with a clutch block before Myers' kill gave the Titans the set, 26-24.

Once again finding their backs against the wall, the Titans staved off a Regent set point in the fourth. Johnson's ace evened the score at 24 all. Hartke smashed a kill on an over pass and then Perez slammed down a set-winning kill to knot the match at two sets apiece.

The fifth set saw two lead changes and four ties. Feeding off the momentum of a Myers kill, the Titans went up 10-8 on a block by Romano and Myers. With IWU in front 12-9, Rockford called a timeout, but it did little to thwart Illinois Wesleyan's comeback. Kougan's kill pushed the set to match point and a Rockford error sealed the comeback, 15-10. 

Illinois Wesleyan returns to the court Friday, Jan. 28, for the first match of the inaugural IWU Invitational. The Titans will take on Lakeland College at 5 p.m. Friday, before battling Adrian College and Concordia-Chicago Saturday, Jan. 29.

 
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