BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team defeated Rockford University in four sets by scores of 25-19, 25-15, 22-25, and 25-22 Tuesday night, Jan. 23, in IWU's home opener. The Titans improved their program-best start to 3-0 on the season, while the Regents dipped to 0-2.

Freshmen Bryce Williams (Chicago, Ill.-Whitney Young) and Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) put together strong showings in their Shirk Center debuts, as the first-year duo led the Titans. Williams was one of two Titans to finish with double-digit kills, tallying with 10 on a .273 attacking percentage. Reutter finished with a career-high 22 assists, to go along with two kills, three digs, and three blocks. 

Senior Michael Eastman (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Ignatius) notched a team-high 12 kills on a .391 clip. He also added seven digs and two solo blocks. 

Defensively, the Green and White finished with eight blocks. Junior Jake Kougan (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) recorded a team-best three rejections, including the 100th of his career, while senior Javier Romano (Prospect Heights, Ill.-Wheeling) and Reutter also posted three apiece. Sophomore Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East) collected a team-high eight digs in the match.

As a team, Illinois Wesleyan hit .291 for the match with 47 kills on 103 attempts. IWU recorded 43 assists and 38 digs. Rockford finished with 34 kills and was limited to a .076 attacking percentage. The Regents were credited with 31 assists and 36 digs.

A kill from Perez halted a Rockford run midway through the first set, as IWU pushed ahead, 11-9. Kills from Perez and Romano, along with errors by the Regents saw the Green and White expand its lead to 17-12 to force a Rockford timeout.

Despite the pause, RU would not get any closer as Reutter's dump set gave Illinois Wesleyan the set, 25-19.

In the second, the Titans raced out to a 5-1 lead as the home team scored the set's first four points. A pair of aces by Perez, a RU error, and a kill from Williams gave IWU a four-point cushion. Rockford pulled back within two on a three-point run, before kills from Eastman and Kougan got the Titans back on track, 8-4.

The Green and White pulled away, 15-8, on Romano's kill to bring about another RU timeout. After a kick kept IWU from the initial kill, the senior middle hammered down the over-ball for his fourth kill of the match.

A back-row attack from Williams kept the Titans rolling, as Illinois Wesleyan rolled to a 25-15 win to go up two sets to none. 

Rockford flipped the script in the third, as the Regents played with a lead for much of the set. Back-to-back RU points saw IWU take a timeout starting down a 19-15 deficit. A Rockford attacking error and a kill from junior Luke Hartke (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington) cut the RU lead in half, but the Regents extended the match as they took the third, 25-22.

The fourth set featured 18 ties and nine lead changes as IWU and RU battled back and forth.
Trailing 20-19, junior Vince DiCosola (Aurora, Ill.-Oswego East) set Eastman for a kill to level the set at 20. The run continued with an RU service error and an Eastman rejection to give IWU a one-point edge, 22-21. 

Rockford tied the score with a point following a timeout, but a pair of kills from Eastman and another miscue by the Regents gave Illinois Wesleyan the win, 25-22, to finish the match in four sets.

The Titans enjoy a six-day break before returning to action on the road Monday, Jan. 29, at Benedictine University. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Dan and Ada Rice Center.