BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team kept its hope of qualifying for the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament for the first time in program history alive with a four-set win over Augustana College Sunday, March 27. Illinois Wesleyan took down Augie by set scores of 25-19, 25-22, 25-27, and 25-23 to move to 8-13 overall and 3-8 in CCIW play. Augie dipped to 6-16 on the season, and now sits at 2-8 in the conference. 

Augustana charged ahead 11-6 in the opening set to force an IWU timeout before sophomore Javier Romano's (Prospect Heights, Ill.-Wheeling) kill got the Titans going. An ace by Romano was followed by kills from freshman Ryan Myers (Hawthorn Woods, Ill.-Stevenson) and sophomore Julian Perez (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg), before an Augie error pushed Illinois Wesleyan to a 15-13 advantage. 

After the Vikings pulled back within one, Eastman pounded a kill for an 18-16 Illinois Wesleyan lead. The kill proved to be part of a 5-0 run by the Green and White, which culminated in back-to-back kills by Romano. Augustana chipped away late in the set, but Eastman closed things out with a kill, 25-19. 

Similarly, the second set saw Augustana claim the lead early. The Vikings were once again unable to hold off a Titan comeback as Eastman and freshman Jake Kougan (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) combined for a set-tying block to even the score at 16 all. Illinois Wesleyan followed an Augustana timeout with kills by Perez and Kougan to force another Augie break with IWU in front, 19-16. 

Errors kept the Green and White from closing out the set, as the Vikings tied the score at 21 all on the IWU miscues. Following a sideout, Eastman notched an ace and Romano and Myers teamed up for a block to push it to set point, 24-21, before Myers' kill put the Titans up two sets to none in the match.

A monster block by Eastman came on the heels of an ace by sophomore Alec Mucha (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) and gave IWU a 21-18 lead as Augie called a timeout. Illinois Wesleyan saw its three-point lead erased as Augustana used an ace to go ahead 24-22. A kill by Myers, an ace by Eastman, and an Augie error propelled the Titans to a 25-24 lead, but the Vikings closed out the set, 27-25, to force a fourth set. 

The fourth set featured 15 ties and eight lead changes. An overpass was put away on a kill by Kougan to trim Augie's lead to three, 19-16. Perez followed with a kill of his own to force an Augustana timeout. Eastman and Myers tacked on kills late to keep the score even, but a Vikings miscue gave the Titans match-point, 24-23. Fittingly, it was Eastman who finished off the match with a kill to give IWU a 25-23 set victory.

Eastman finished with a match-high 14 kills on a .343 clip, while he completed a double-double with 12 digs. Myers finished with 10 kills, with Perez adding nine kills and a pair of blocks. Hartke tied for the team lead with 12 digs to help IWU muster a 52-48 lead in the category for the match. 

Sophomore Bradley Benson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont Township) notched 25 assists, while recording nine digs on the defensive end. Sophomore Adam Blackmore (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) and freshman Vince DiCosola (Aurora, Ill.-Oswego East) tallied seven digs apiece, with DiCosola tallying 15 assists.

The Titans hit .161 for the match to the Vikings' .089 clip and held a 50-37 lead in kills. IWU also manufactured a 9-7 edge in aces, led by Eastman with three. Sophomore Freddy Gamarra (Hackensack, N.J.-Hackensack) and Hartke recorded two each. 

Illinois Wesleyan returns to action Tuesday, March 29, at No. 2 Dominican University. First serve is set for 6 p.m.