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Bryce Williams serving against Wisconsin Lutheran Feb. 9, 2024
Kodiak Creative
3
Winner Carthage CARTH 13-5,6-1 CCIW
0
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 10-13,1-7 CCIW
Winner
Carthage CARTH
13-5,6-1 CCIW
3
Final
0
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
10-13,1-7 CCIW
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Carthage CARTH 27 25 25 (3)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 19 17 (0)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

Men’s Volleyball Falls to No. 10 Carthage in Home Finale

Titans travel to No. 11 North Central Wednesday, April 3

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Playing its final match of the season inside Shirk Center, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team fell to No. 10 Carthage College, 27-25, 25-19, and 25-17, Wednesday, March 27. The loss drops the Titans to 10-13 overall, 1-7 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play, while Carthage improves to 13-5 overall and 6-1 in league action.

Senior Michael Eastman (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Ignatius) led the match with 14 kills on a .314 attack percentage, while freshman Bryce Williams (Chicago, Ill.-Whitney M. Young) posted 12 kills, one short of tying his career-high, on a .348 showing. Freshman Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) led the Green and White with 17 assists, followed by senior Bradley Benson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont Township) with 12. 

On the defensive end, Reutter and Williams each finished with eight digs. Sophomore Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East) added six. At the net, senior zJulian Perez (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg) posted a pair of blocks. 

As a team, IWU was narrowly edged by the Firebirds in kills (41-37) and assists (40-34), while each team finished with 31 digs, but the difference came in blocks, with Carthage holding a 12-2 advantage. The Firebirds finished the match hitting .419 as a squad, while holding Illinois Wesleyan to a .183 showing. 

Kougan and Eastman opened the match with back-to-back kills, as the Titans began the contest on a 7-2 run. 

After the two teams traded points, Carthage strung together three straight to see its first lead of the set, 17-16. Eastman responded with a kill to level the set at 17, and put the set back into back-and-forth action. 

CC took a 21-20 advantage, igniting head coach Brandon Mueller to use his first timeout. Out of the timeout, Perez tooled a pair of blockers to bring the set to within one.

Illinois Wesleyan saw the next two points go Carthage's way, sparking Mueller to call his second and final timeout. The Titans used the timeout to their advantage, as a service error brought it within two, 23-21. 

Facing set point moments later, Eastman registered a kill and two Firebird miscues leveled the set at 14 apiece. IWU could not close out the opening set win, falling 27-25. 

Similar to the first set, the second one opened up with a close battle. After a service error began the second set, Eastman got the Titans on the board with a kill. Following a Carthage response, junior Jake Kougan (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) banked one off a Firebird' face to even the score at two apiece. 

Reutter found Williams for a kill, and a Carthage miscue gave IWU its first lead of the set, 6-5. Carthage evened the set, but Eastman responded with a kill to push the Titans back out in front. Two points later, Carthage regained control, but Illinois Wesleyan rattled off three straight, courtesy of a service error, followed by a block from Perez and Kougan, and aPerez kill, to see a 10-8 advantage.

With the set tied at 14 all, Carthage went on a 5-0 run to take control of the set, eventually taking it 25-19. 

Illinois Wesleyan never found its footing in the third set, ultimately dropping it, 25-17. 

The Titans return to action Wednesday, April 3, traveling to North Central College to take on the 11th-ranked Cardinals.
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