BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team will begin the 2023 season on the road in Crawfordsville, Ind. to take on Wabash College Tuesday, Jan. 17. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST. 

The Titans, now in their third season of collegiate action, return everyone from the 2022 squad, and welcome five newcomers. Tuesday's match will serve as the collegiate debuts of Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East), Luke Weston (Lafayette, Ind.-William Henry Harrison), Owen Vukelich (Palatine, Ill.-Palatine), Noah Casillas (Palatine, Ill.-Palatine), and Hayden Warfield (Winston Salem, N.C.-Dakar Academy). 

Junior Michael Eastman (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Ignatius) has led the Green and White's offense in the first two seasons of action. Eastman recorded a team-best 293.5 points, 246 kills, and 37 service aces in the 2022 campaign. Junior Bradley Benson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont Township) and sophomore Vince DiCosola (Aurora, Ill.-Oswego East) orchestrated the majority of the Titan offense with 336 and 290 assists, respectively. 

Junior KJ Johnson (Saint John, Ind.-Marian Catholic) commanded the Titan defense with 135 digs, and sophomore Jake Kougan (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) compiled a team-high 51 total blocks in his first collegiate season. 

This will mark the first meeting between the Titans and the Little Giants. Wabash enters the match 2-0 after opening its 2023 season with sweeps over Maranatha Baptist University and Rockford University Saturday, Jan. 14. 

A live video of the match can be found here, and live stats can be accessed here. Be sure to follow the IWU men's volleyball instagram (@iwumensvolleyball) and twitter account (@iwumvb) to stay up-to-date on the team.