Julian Perez awaits a serve against Rockford Jan. 23, 2024

Ashtin Elder

Men’s Volleyball Travels to Windy City for Tuesday Night Tilt

Titans will face Illinois Institute of Technology

2/5/2024 12:00:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - After completing its first of three home tournaments, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team will travel to the Windy City to face Illinois Institute of Technology Tuesday night, Feb. 6. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Keating Sports Center.

The Titans (4-2) enter the match off a split at the IWU Triangular I Saturday, Feb. 3. IWU defeated Aurora University in three sets to kick off the day, but fell in four sets to Trine University to close out the triangular. Senior Michael Eastman (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Ignatius) continued his torrid start to the season, as his 17 kills on a .483 attack percentage against Aurora marked the most kills in a three-set match in program history. Eastman followed that performance with a defensive showing against Trine, as his 17 digs marked a new career-high and the most digs in a four-set match in program history, along with the third most in any contest by a Titan. He posted 13 kills to pick up his first double-double performance of the season.

The Titan offense has been led by Eastman's 81 kills, and his average of 3.86 kills per set currently ranks 18th in the nation, while his 4.52 points per set ranks 17th nationally. Freshman Bryce Williams (Chicago, Ill.-Whitney M. Young) is second on the team with 47, and junior Jake Kougan (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) rounds out the top-three hitters with 31 kills. Eastman's 10 aces are a team-high, followed by Kougan's seven, and Vince DiCosola's (Aurora, Ill.-Oswego East) five.

Freshman Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) and DiCosola have orchestrated the majority of the offense through the first six matches. Reutter leads the Green and White with 87 assists, an average of 4.83 per set, while DiCosola closely follows with 83 assists and an average of 4.37 per set.

Defensively, the Titans have seen a strong net presence, led by Kougan's 19 blocks, composed of three solo and 16 assisted, for an average of 0.90 per set. Senior Javier Romano (Prospect Heights, Ill.-Wheeling) is second on the squad with 14 rejections, and Reutter is third with 11 stuffs. Sophomore Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East) leads the Green and White with 46 digs, averaging 2.30 per set. Eastman closely follows with 44, while DiCosola rounds out the top-three Titans with 25 digs.

Tuesday's match will mark the second meeting between the Titans and Scarlet Hawks (2-4). IIT took the inaugural meeting in four sets Feb. 4, 2022. Then-sophomore KJ Johnson (Saint John, Ind.-Marian Catholic) led the Titans with 11 kills, while DiCosola and then-sophomore Bradley Benson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) finished with 20 and 11 assists, respectively. Benson notched a double-double performance, as he posted a team-high 10 digs. Eastman also finished with a double-double, having 10 kills and 10 digs. The Scarlet Hawks enter the contest off a 3-1 loss at Judson University Tuesday, Jan. 30.

A live stream of the match can be found here, and live stats can be followed by clicking here.

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