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Men's Volleyball picks up program-record ninth win Feb. 24, 2023
Kodiak Creative
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 9-6,0-0 CCIW
0
Rockford Rock 4-4,0-0 NACC
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
9-6,0-0 CCIW
3
Final
0
Rockford Rock
4-4,0-0 NACC
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 25 25 (3)
Rockford Rock 20 17 22 (0)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

Men’s Volleyball Sweeps Rockford for Program-Record Ninth Win

Titans complete non-conference slate with 9-6 record

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - In just 15 matches, in the program's third season of collegiate action, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team captured its ninth win of the season to set a new program record, Friday, Feb. 24. The Titans (9-6) made quick work at Rockford University, winning with set scores 25-20, 25-17, 25-22. 

The Green and White offense was dominant from start to finish, as the team had a .304 attack percentage, and saw a .345 clip posted in the final set. The IWU defense held Rockford (4-4) to a mere .088 attack percentage in the match. The Titans saw an advantage in kills (38-22), aces (8-4), assists (33-21), blocks (8-4), and digs (24-23). 

Junior Michael Eastman (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Ignatius) led the match with 12 kills, followed by freshman Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East) with nine, and sophomore Ryan Myers (Hawthorn Woods, Ill.-Stevenson) had seven. Milka posted an impressive .538 attack percentage in the match, as he converted nine kills on 13 swings. Juniors Bradley Benson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont Township) and Dominic Bennett (Lockport, Ill.-Plainfield Central) led the Titans with 18 and 14 assists, respectively. Eastman led IWU with three aces, tied for most in the match, while Benson and Bennett each had two. 

The defense was led by sophomore Jake Kougan (Frankford, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East), and juniors Javier Romano (Prospect Heights, Ill.-Wheeling) and Julian Perez (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg) with two blocks each. Junior Adam Blackmore (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) tied for a match-high six digs, while Eastman followed with five. 

Illinois Wesleyan began the match on a 7-1 run, but Rockford came back to tie it up at eight all. The first set saw back-and-forth action before IWU closed out on an 8-2 run with the help of Eastman and Romano each recording two kills, along with an ace from Benson, to take the first set 25-20. 

The Titans picked up where they left off in the second set, as they opened on a 6-0 run after dropping the initial point in the set. Illinois Wesleyan never trailed from that point on, as the team secured the 25-17 set win by taking eight of the last 11 points. 

Similar to the first two sets, Illinois Wesleyan jumped out at the start, using an 8-2 run to do so. While the final set did not see any more large rallies, the Titans were challenged until the end, as the Regents made a late charge to bring the set to within two, 23-21. Milka helped bring the Titans to match point with a kill, and an RU attack error secured a 25-22 victory. 

Illinois Wesleyan will begin College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play Wednesday night, March 1, as No. 10 North Central College comes to the Shirk Center for a midweek matchup. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Shirk Center. A live stream can be accessed by clicking here, and live stats can be found here. 
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