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Men's Volleyball sweeps npu March 29, 2023
Kodiak Creative
0
North Park NPU 12-12,2-5 CCIW
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 10-13,1-7 CCIW
North Park NPU
12-12,2-5 CCIW
0
Final
3
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
10-13,1-7 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
North Park NPU 22 18 20 (0)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

Men’s Volleyball Sweeps North Park

Titans pick up 10th win of season to secure first double-digit season in program history

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team made quick work of College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin foe North Park University Wednesday night, March 29 inside the Shirk Center. The Titans (10-13, 1-7 CCIW) used a sweep to pick up the much-needed conference win, as well as their first ever against NPU, winning with set scores 25-22, 25-18, 25-20. The loss drops the Vikings to 12-12 overall, 2-5 in CCIW play. 

IWU was powered behind a team attack percentage of .221, while limiting NPU to a .145 clip. IWU held a 49-40 advantage in digs, and a 6-4 service ace advantage. North Park finished with a slim advantage in kills (34-33) and assists (32-31), and saw a 6-2 block advantage. 

The electric Titan offense was paced by juniors Michael Eastman (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Ignatius) and Julian Perez (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg), as the duo finished with 11 and seven kills, respectively. Perez finished the match with a .357 attack percentage. Sophomore Vince DiCosola (Aurora, Ill.-Oswego East) orchestrated the majority of the offense, as he finished with 26 assists, and contributed three kills. DiCosola, Eastman, and sophomore Jake Kougan (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) all notched a pair of aces. 

On the defensive end, sophomore Ryan Myers (Hawthorn Woods, Ill.-Stevenson) led the match with a career-best 13 digs, while junior Blake McGlashan-Bryant (Hawthorn, Calif.-Mira Costa) added nine, a new career-best. 

Trailing 11-6 in the first set, head coach Brandon Mueller would call a timely timeout, as the Titans responded with a 5-2 run to bring the set to 12-11. The Vikings regained control of the set, jumping out to a 20-15 lead. IWU regrouped, as DiCosola used a dump set to pick up his first kill of the match, followed by a Vikings attack error and an ace from Kougan, to bring the set to 20-18. The Titans secured the comeback in the opening set, closing out on a 6-0 run to take the first set 25-22. 

The second set saw back-and-forth action until a kill from junior Javier Romano (Prospect Heights, Ill.-Wheeling) opened up an 8-1 run in favor of the home team, as the Titans took a 14-7 lead. The Green and White would never trail, cruising to a 25-18 victory to jump out two sets to none. 

Eastman opened the third set with a kill, as he buried a set from DiCosola, but the Vikings quickly responded, eventually taking a slim 3-2 lead. The Titans would trail until three straight Eastman kills put the home team in front with an 8-5 advantage. IWU would hold control until North Park used a 5-0 run to jump out 19-18. Illinois Wesleyan closed out the win on a 7-1 run, as Eastman's second ace of the night set up match point, followed by a Vikings attack error to secure the sweep, as the Titans took the final set, 25-20. 

Illinois Wesleyan returns to action Saturday, April 1, at Augustana College. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. inside Roy J. Carver Arena.

 
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