CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. - Illinois Wesleyan University's men's volleyball team opened the 2023 season with a sweep over Wabash College on the road Tuesday night, Jan. 17 (25-19, 25-20, 25-20). With the win, IWU jumped to 1-0 on the young season, while the Little Giants record sits at 2-1. 

Illinois Wesleyan was led by a strong, balanced attack that saw junior Michael Eastman (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Ignatius) record a match-high nine kills. Sophomores Ryan Myers (Hawthorn Woods, Ill.-Stevenson) and Luke Hartke (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington) added eight and six, respectively. Junior Bradley Benson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont Township) topped the Titans with 13 assists, while pacing the team with a match-best three aces.

Defensively, Eastman tied junior Adam Blackmore (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) with a team-best four digs. Myers notched four blocks, the most of any player in the match, and junior Alec Mucha (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) and sophomore Jake Kougan (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) contributed two rejections each.

IWU led Wabash in kills (34-22), assists (30-22), aces (6-0), and blocks (5-4), with a .211 attack percentage, compared to the Little Giants' .014. The only statistical category that the Titans did not have an advantage in was digs, as Wabash had 28 to the Titans' 17.

Hartke began the year with a kill to start the Titans ahead 1-0, as the Green and White never trailed in the first set. With the score tied at two a piece, Myers used a set from Benson to put IWU up 3-2, and from then on, the first set was all IWU. Junior Eastman quickly picked up where he finished the 2022 season with back-to-back kills, followed by freshman Jace Milka's (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East) first collegiate kill, and an ace from Javier Romano (Prospect Heights, Ill.-Wheeling) forced the Little Giants to burn the first timeout of the match as IWU welcomed a 10-7 lead. Wabash fought back to bring the score to 12-10 on three straight points, but the Titans never allowed the home team to score any more back-to-back points, winning the first set 25-19. 

IWU used two straight attack errors to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the second set. Similar to the first set, the Green and White never trailed. The set remained close until the Titans used a 7-2 run to go up 21-15 and force a Wabash timeout. Eastman put the visitors in position to sweep with a kill, finalizing the second set 25-20. 

The third set saw the most back-and-forth action of the match, and for the first time the Titans found themselves trailing 1-0, but quickly answered via a Wabash error. The score remained close until the Titans capitalized on four straight points to go up 19-13 and gain some separation. The Little Giants responded with three straight of their own, and forced the Titans to call a timeout leading, 22-20. The Titans regathered themselves after the quick break, and used a Little Giants error, followed by an ace from junior Blake McGlashan-Bryant (Hawthorne, Calif.-Mira Costa) to force match point. Mucha and Myers teamed up for a block to secure the sweep, as the Titans won the third and final set with a score of 25-20. 

The Titans will head to Santa Cruz, Calif. to play in the UC Santa Cruz Slug Slam Friday-Saturday, Jan. 20-21. IWU will play four matches in two days, and begin its west coast trip with a dual against California Lutheran University. First serve is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. PST on Jan. 20. Illinois Wesleyan will then take on Fontbonne College to finish the first day of games with a tentative 7:45 p.m. PST start. The Titans will finish their California trip with matches on Jan. 21 against UC Santa Cruz and Edgewood College at 10:45 a.m. PST and 7:45 p.m. PST, respectively. Live video for all four games can be found here, and live stats for the matches can be accessed here.