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BLOOMINGTON, IL - Illinois Wesleyan Men’s Volleyball Invitational - Illinois Wesleyan vs Adrian - February 9, 2024 - Kodiak Creative/Jimmy Naprstek
Kodiak Creative
0
Fontbonne Font 3-7,0-0 MCVL
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 8-5,0-0 CCIW
Fontbonne Font
3-7,0-0 MCVL
0
Final
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Ill. Wesleyan IWU
8-5,0-0 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Fontbonne Font 19 17 14 (0)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

Men’s Volleyball Sweeps Fontbonne

Titans notch eighth win of season

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team got back on track Thursday night, Feb. 15, with a sweep of Fontbonne University inside the Shirk Center. The Titans snapped a three-game losing streak with 25-19, 25-17, and 25-14 set scores to move to 8-5 on the season. The Griffins stumbled to 3-7 overall. 

Illinois Wesleyan's attack was dominant in the win, as the Green and White hit .304 as a team with 40 kills on 92 attempts. Fontbonne was stymied to a .012 attacking percentage, with 15 kills on 81 swings. IWU also ran away with leads in aces (7-2), digs (44-30), and blocks (5-3).

Junior Luke Hartke (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington) put together a strong performance with seven kills on a .400 clip, while also adding three digs, a pair of blocks, and an assist. Senior Michael Eastman (Chicago, Ill.-St. Ignatius) and freshman Bryce Williams (Chicago, Ill.-Whitney M. Young) totaled double digit kills. Eastman notched a match-best 13 kills with a .296, while Williams totaled a dozen kills on an impressive .381 clip. 

Freshman Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) registered a double-double with 15 assists and a match-leading 11 digs. Junior Vince DiCosola (Aurora, Ill.-Oswego East) notched 17 assists with six digs, while sophomore Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East) and Williams added eight digs apiece.

Back-to-back aces from senior Javier Romano (Prospect Heights, Ill.-Wheeling) gave IWU an 8-6 lead in the first set. The Titans expanded the lead to four, 13-9, on kills from senior Julian Perez (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg) and Williams to force a Fontbonne timeout. 

Illinois Wesleyan continued to roll out of the reset as Romano and Hartke combined for a block to stretch the lead to 19-12 and bring about another timeout for the visitors.

After a Hartke cross-court kill gave the Green and White an eight-point advantage, the Griffins mounted a comeback. Fontbonne cut the IWU lead in half before Eastman's kill pushed the score to set point, 24-19. Junior Jake Kougan (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) and Perez combined for the rejection, finishing off the set, 25-19.

In the second set, it was all Titans early as a solo stuff from Williams had Illinois Wesleyan in front, 5-1. 

The Griffins erased the deficit, capitalizing on miscues to claim a 13-12 lead midway through the set, but the Titans went on a 9-2 run to charge back ahead. Kills late in the set from Eastman, including a lefty tip over the block, wrapped up a 25-17 victory.

The Green and White closed the match out in the third, pairing incredible defense with a strong attack. Williams recorded five kills on seven swings without committing an error to help IWU hit .393 for the set. Meanwhile, blocks from Eastman, Hartke, and Kougan limited the Griffins to a -.034 attacking percentage. Senior Bradley Benson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont Township) set Eastman for a hammer of a kill, before Fontbonne's error finished off the sweep, 25-14.

Illinois Wesleyan travels to Dominican University for a non-conference bout Tuesday, Feb. 20. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.

 
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