BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Facing its second straight nationally-ranked opponent, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team succumbed to fifth-ranked Loras College in the its College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin opener Wednesday night, Feb. 28. IWU fell in straight sets, 25-19, 25-13, 25-21, to fall to 8-7 overall, 0-1 in CCIW action, while Loras improves to 13-0, 2-0 in CCIW play. 

Freshman Bryce Williams (Chicago, Ill.-Whitney M. Young) led the Green and White offense with seven kills, while a trio of Titans posted four. Williams and fellow freshman Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) each notched a pair of aces, while Reutter finished with a team-high 12 assists. Junior Vince DiCosola (Aurora, Ill.-Oswego East) narrowly followed with 11. 

On the defensive side, sophomore Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East) recorded a team-best eight digs, followed by DiCosola's five, and four from senior Julian Perez (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg). Senior Javier Romano (Prospect Heights, Ill.-Wheeling) finished with two assisted blocks for the Titans. 

As a team, Illinois Wesleyan was stifled to 26 kills on a -.022 attack percentage, while Loras finished with 33 on a .333 clip. The Duhawks saw narrow advantages in digs (29-28) and aces (30-26), while recording 12 blocks to IWU's two. Illinois Wesleyan had the advantage at the service line, recording five aces to Loras' two. 

Facing a 6-3 deficit in the opening set, Reutter checked into the game and made quick work for the Green and White, as he recorded an ace. Junior Luke Hartke (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington) followed with a kill to bring the set to within one, but the Duhakws got a sideout. 

Falling behind, Reutter found senior Michael Eastman (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Ignatius) for a kill before feeding Williams the ball two points later to bring the score to 18-14 in favor of the Duhawks. Loras responded by taking the next two points, forcing head coach Brandon Mueller to burn a timeout. 

Out of the timeout, Williams buried a kill, but Loras registered back-to-back points to extend its lead to seven, 22-15.

Eastman opened a 4-1 run for the Green and White with two straight kills, as DiCosola found him both times. Perez and Romano followed by pairing up for a loud block to bring the score to 22-18 in favor of the visitors. After a service error gave the Duhawks the sideout, Perez capped off the run with a kill, but Loras would take the last two points to win the first set, 25-19. 

After winning a long rally to open the set, a Duhawk service error got the Titans a sideout. Perez followed by tooling a block, and Williams registered an ace to give the Titans a 3-1 advantage to open the set. 

Loras would record four straight points to up the score to 8-4, resulting in an IWU timeout. Following the timeout, the Duhawks followed with a service error, bringing Hartke and Reutter into the set. Same as the first set, Reutter recorded an ace to close the gap to three, 9-6.

After Loras took the next five points, Hartke buried a pass from Reutter, but the Titans would never find their groove in the set, ultimately falling 25-13. 

Perez notched the first point for the Green and White, and Williams followed with an ace, as the Titans cut Loras' lead to 4-2. 

Junior Ryan Myers (Hawthorn Woods, Ill.-Stevenson) posted his first kill of the night after a Duhawks sideout, as the lead fell back to two. 

Facing an 11-6 deficit, Mueller called a timeout, which worked in favor for the Green and White, as it iced the Loras serve, which was followed by a Duhawks attack error. Hartke and Romano teamed up for a block, the Kougan registered an ace, as the Titans posted four straight points to bring the set to within two, 11-9. 

The two points would be as close as Illinois Wesleyan would get, as Loras would take the set, 25-21, winning the match in straight sets. 

Illinois Wesleyan returns to action Saturday, March 2, as the Titans host their third and final home tournament. IWU will welcome CCIW foe North Park University, along with Bethany College for a triangular. The Green and White will open the tournament against North Park at 1 p.m. before facing Bethany at 5 p.m. to conclude the day. Information regarding the IWU Triangular II can be found by clicking here.