BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team battled fifth-ranked North Central College tight in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin action Friday night, March 18, inside the Shirk Center. The Titans (6-12, 1-7) took the first set, but could not pull off the upset as the Cardinals (15-1, 7-1 CCIW) took the match in four sets (18-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-19).

Freshman Luke Hartke (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington) and sophomore Michael Eastman (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Ignatius) paced an IWU attack that hit .250 for the match. Hartke notched 10 kills on a .250 clip, while also adding six digs, a pair of blocks, and an ace. Eastman recorded a match-high 15 kills with six digs. Freshman Ryan Myers (Hawthorn Woods, Ill.-Stevenson) tallied seven kills on a .467 clip, while sophomore Javier Romano (Prospect Heights, Ill.-Wheeling) finished with four kills, four digs, and three blocks.

Sophomore Adam Blackmore (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) recorded a team-high seven digs in the setback, while sophomore Bradley Benson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) dished out a team-high 21 assists.

North Central finished the match with 55 kills to IWU's 44, while the Cardinal boasted a .322 attacking percentage. IWU was credited with a 5-3 advantage in service aces, and built a 6-4 lead in blocks. NCC manufactured a 39-34 lead in digs.

Illinois Wesleyan traded slim leads with North Central in the early goings before a tip by freshman Hartke gave IWU a three-point advantage, 18-15, to force an NCC timeout. Out of the break, Hartke, Myers, and fellow freshman Vince DiCosola (Aurora, Ill.-Oswego East) helped expand the Green and White's lead to five, 22-17. A kill by Eastman gave the Titans back the serve, which Hartke took full advantage of as he finished off the set with an ace to give Illinois Wesleyan the win, 25-18.

The second set saw the Cardinals take control early on, but Romano and Julian Perez (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg) combined for a block to even the score at seven. North Central reclaimed the lead, eventually going up 22-17. After an NCC error, freshman Jake Kougan (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) and Eastman notched kills to pull IWU within two, 23-21. Back-to-back kills by the Titans made way for another Cardinal timeout, which proved to thwart the rally as the Green and White came up short, 25-22.

After North Central claimed the third set 25-18, Illinois Wesleyan did its best to force a fifth set. An ace by sophomore Freddy Gamarra (Hackensack N.J.-Hackensack) trimmed what was once a five-point deficit to two, 15-13, cuing up an NCC timeout. A block by the freshman duo of Myers and Kougan made the score 16-14, but the Cardinals used a 7-3 run to reclaim control, 23-17. Despite a late push by the Titans, North Central finished off the match in four, 25-19.

Illinois Wesleyan makes the short trip to Millikin University tomorrow, March 19. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Griswold Center in Decatur, Ill.