BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - With only three College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin matches remaining, the Illinois Wesleyan men's volleyball team will make the trek to Kenosha, Wis. to battle No. 3 Carthage College. The match is scheduled for Wednesday, March 23 inside of Tarble Arena with a first serve of 7 p.m. Coming into the key CCIW tilt, IWU has an overall record of 7-12 (2-7 CCIW), while the Firebirds own an impressive 13-3 (8-0 CCIW) record.

With just 11 days remaining in the CCIW regular season slate, Carthage is sitting atop the conference standings with an unblemished 8-0 record. North Central (7-1) and Loras (7-2) round out the top three, respectively. With the fourth CCIW tournament seed still up for grabs, three teams are vying for the spot. Currently, North Park holds the fourth spot with a 3-6 record. Augie (2-6) and IWU (2-7) are just one win behind. Millikin is 0-7 and will try to shake up the standings by playing spoiler. 

The Green and White last took to the court Saturday, March 19 against the Big Blue. IWU secured an ever-important conference victory by taking down MU in straight sets. Meanwhile, the reigning Division III National Champions outlasted Augie in three sets, last Wednesday, March 16. 

The Titans and Firebirds met earlier this season in Bloomington, Feb. 26. The Green and White's upset bid came up short as IWU won the opening set, but were defeated in four sets. Overall, CC leads the all-time series, 3-0.

For the year, Illinois Wesleyan has garnered a total of 723 kills. Leading the charge is sophomore Michael Eastman (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Ignatius) who has accumulated 200 kills. Sophomore Julian Perez (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg) ranks second with his 127 kills on the year. 

Sophomore Bradley Benson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont Township) and freshman Vince DiCosola (Aurora, Ill.-Oswego East) have teamed up for a combined 510 assists. Benson leads the assist department with 263, while DiCosola has earned 247 assists.

On the defensive side of the ball, KJ Johnson (Saint John, Ind.-Marian Catholic) tops the team with his 127 digs while Eastman is one away from the century mark, with 99 digs.

Freshman Jake Kougan (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) is leading the Titans in blocks with 42 rejections. 

Live stats can be accessed by clicking here. A live video of the match can be found by clicking here.