BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Coming off a thrilling five-set victory at Illinois Institute of Technology Tuesday night, Feb. 6, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team will host the IWU Invitational Friday-Saturday, Feb. 9-10. The Titans (5-2) will play four matches over the course of the two days. 

The tournament will feature nearly the same group as last year, as Adrian College, Edgewood College, Wabash College, and Wisconsin Lutheran College make the trip to Bloomington. IWU will crack open the tournament at 4 p.m. Friday night, Feb. 9, facing Wisconsin Lutheran (0-3), before closing out the first day of action against Adrian (4-5) at 8 p.m. On Saturday, Feb. 10, Illinois Wesleyan will face Edgewood (1-4) at 10 a.m. before finishing its second home tournament against Wabash (4-1) at 12 p.m.

Illinois Wesleyan saw three Titans finish with double-digit kills Tuesday night, as senior Michael Eastman (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Ignatius) and freshman Bryce Williams (Chicago, Ill.-Whitney M. Young) each finished with 13 kills, while senior Julian Perez (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg) posted 11. Freshman Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) notched a career-high 25 assists, and sophomore Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East) led the defense with a career-best 18 digs. 

Eastman is off to a torrid start in his final campaign, as he leads the Green and White with 94 kills on a .322 attack percentage, and his average of 3.92 kills per set ranks 28th nationally. Williams is second with 60 kills, while Perez rounds out the top three with 40. Reutter and junior Vince DiCosola (Aurora, Ill.-Oswego East) have been the masterminds behind the majority of the offense with 112 and 104 assists, respectively. 

On the defensive side, the Titans have utilized a strong net presence, led by junior Jake Kougan (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) with 24 blocks. His 0.92 blocks per set average ranks 27th nationally. Senior Javier Romano (Prospect Heights, Ill.-Wheeling) is second on the squad with 18, and Perez's 14 rejections are the third-most for the Titans. Milka leads the back row on defense with 64 digs, averaging 2.56 per set. Eastman and DiCosola are second and third with 55 and 33 digs, respectively.

IWU will face Wisconsin Lutheran for the second time in program history, with last year's IWU Invitational appearance marking the first. The two squads met on the courts nearly one year ago, Feb. 11, 2023 as IWU defeated the Warriors in three sets. Milka led the offense with 14 kills, while Eastman posted an eight-kill, three-ace performance. WLC enters the weekend off a three-set loss to University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Tuesday, Feb. 6.

Friday night will be the fourth meeting between Illinois Wesleyan and Adrian, with IWU taking all three previous meetings. The most recent match came on Feb. 10, 2023, as the Titans notched a sweep behind 10 kills from Eastman, along with five kills from then-sophomores Ryan Myers (Hawthorn Woods, Ill.-Stevenson) and Luke Hartke (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington). Then-junior Bradley Benson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont Township) finished with a match-high 18 assists. The Bulldogs come into town after sweeping Concordia University Chicago Saturday, Feb. 3. 

Saturday will see the Titans face Edgewood for the third time. IWU came out victorious in both previous meetings, with the last one coming in four sets Feb. 11, 2023. Eastman paved the way with 17 kills and three aces, while DiCosola notched a double-double performance with 24 assists and 15 digs. The Eagles dropped their most recent match to Clarke University in four sets Tuesday, Feb. 6. 

IWU will close out its second of three home tournaments against Wabash, meeting the Little Giants for the third time. The Green and White own both previous meetings, including the most recent matchup Feb. 10, 2023. Perez posted 10 kills, while Eastman had nine, and Romano's three aces and four blocks helped the Titans earn the sweep. Wabash most recently beat Lakeland University in five sets Friday, Feb. 2. 

All matches will be live streamed, which can be found here, while live stats can be followed along by clicking here. A tournament central page, which includes all live stream and stats links for each match, along with the tournament schedule, can be accessed by clicking here.