BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team saw its win streak snapped at four by Illinois Institute of Technology, Friday, Feb. 4 inside of the Shirk Center. The Titans ran out of steam against the Scarlet Hawks, falling 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, and 25-14. IWU's record sits at 4-2 and IIT's record jumped to 2-1. 

Sophomore Michael Eastman (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Ignatius) earned a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs, to go along with three aces. Sophomore KJ Johnson (Saint John, Ind.-Marian Catholic) registered 11 kills and sophomore Bradley Benson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont Township) notched an 11-assist, 10-dig double-double. 

The Titans hit .141 as a team, with 42 hits on 128 attempts, while the Scarlet Hawks owned a .299 clip with 50 kills on 117 attacks. IIT held a 7-1 edge in blocks, with IWU owning a slim 8-7 advantage in aces.

In the opening frame, with the Titans clinging to an early 10-9 advantage, back-to-back IIT errors gave IWU a 12-9 lead. A Johnson kill stretched the Illinois Wesleyan lead to 17-13, however, a persistent Scarlet Hawks team rattled off five straight points to force a Green and White timeout with the score tied at 17 all. The pause momentarily slowed IIT, but the Scarlet Hawks went on to claim the set, 25-23.

The second set proved to be back-and-forth. With the score tied at 10 apiece, IWU took advantage of an IIT error and a Johnson kill off the defense to own a 12-10 advantage. However, the slim lead would quickly evaporate as the Scarlet Hawks rattled off five straight to obtain a 15-12 lead, which caused a Wesleyan timeout. The Green and White came storming back to knot the score at 17 all with a freshman Ryan Myers kill (Hawthorn Woods, Ill.-Stevenson) and two Scarlet Hawk errors, but once again IIT took another close set, 25-23.

With the Scarlet Hawks owning a 15-12 lead in the third, a Julian Perez (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg) kill, assisted by freshman Vince DiCosola (Aurora, Ill.-Oswego East), a freshman Jake Kougan (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) ace, and an IIT error tied the score at 15. Back-to-back Eastman kills swung momentum in favor of IWU, as another kill pushed the Titans ahead, 22-20. The Green and White staved off defeat, as a Perez kill combined with a pair of Illinois Tech miscues gave IWU a 25-22 victory.

The Titans ran out of steam in the fourth, as the Scarlet Hawks rode an early lead to a 25-14 win to claim the match in four sets.

Illinois Wesleyan will remain at home to take on a Fontbonne University squad that is receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association top-15 poll. The match is set for Tuesday, Feb. 8, with a start time of 6:30 p.m. inside of the Shirk Center.