Reutter and Rohlwing Earn CCIW Player of the Week Honors

Reutter named setter, Rohlwing earns second-straight defensive award

2/10/2025 4:00:00 PM

CCIW Release

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - After a week full of program-firsts, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team took two of the three College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Player of the Week awards, marking the first time multiple Titans have earned the accolade in the same week. The CCIW announced this week's winners Monday, Feb. 10. Sophomore Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) was named the setter of the week, while freshman Gavin Rohlwing (Tower Lake, Ill.-Barrington) earned his second straight defensive player of the week honor.

Reutter and Rohlwing are the first duo to earn the award in the same week for the Titans, and join a limited list of previous IWU recipients. They join Vince DiCosola (defense/setter, April 3, 2023), Mike Eastman (offense, Jan. 24, 2022), and KJ Johnson (defense/setter, Jan. 31, 2022) as Titans to receive the weekly accolade. Prior to the 2024 season, the conference separated defense and setter, increasing the Player of the Week award to three categories. While Reutter collects the first weekly accolade of his career, Rohlwing becomes the first player in program history to earn it multiple times. He won his first weekly honor last week, Feb. 3.

Reutter put together one of the best weeks in program history for the Titans, helping orchestrate the offense to a 2-1 week and IWU's first win over a ranked opponent. The week saw Reutter record the program's first-ever triple-double performance, doing so against No. 19 Dominican University Thursday, Feb. 6, before doing it again just one match later against Benedictine University Sunday, Feb. 9. Reutter is now the only player in Division III with two triple-double performances this season. For the week, Reutter recorded 75 assists, an average of five per set, 30 kills for an average of two per set on a .396 attack percentage, 40 digs, averaging 2.67 per set, six blocks, and five aces.

The sophomore started the week with a then-career-best 10 kills on a whopping .438 clip, 25 assists, and a career-high 21 digs, and an ace, leading the Titans to the win over Dominican Thursday, Feb. 6. The 21 digs are the second-most in a match in program history. Reutter followed the performance with a 28-assist, 11-kill, 12-dig triple-double performance against Benedictine University Sunday, Feb. 9, as well as logging a career-high five blocks. Reutter finished the week with 22 assists, nine kills, seven digs, three aces, and a block in the five-set victory over Wabash College Sunday night.

Rohlwing put on a show for the Titans alongside Reutter. Just 11 matches into the season, Rohlwing has already tied the program's single-season blocks record, as he notched his 51st against Wabash Sunday, Feb. 9, and currently sits 12th nationally with an average of 1.13 blocks per set. For the week, Rohlwing totaled 20 blocks, averaging an impressive 1.33 per set, 24 kills, averaging 1.60 per set, 10 digs, and two assists.

In the five-set win Thursday night over Dominican, Rohlwing posted five blocks, 11 kills, and five digs. He followed the performance with seven blocks, seven kills, and two digs against Benedictine Sunday, Feb. 9. The freshman closed out the week with eight blocks, the third-most in any match in program history, six kills on a .357 clip, three digs, and two assists in the five-set victory over Wabash Sunday night.

The duo and the rest of the Illinois Wesleyan squad will travel to the East Coast to play in the Morgan Classic, hosted by Springfield College, Friday-Saturday, Feb. 14-15. The trip will see the Titans take on Arcadia University Friday night, Feb. 14, before facing either No. 7 Springfield or No. 1 NYU Saturday, Feb. 15. The East Coast adventure will also see IWU head coach Brandon Mueller, a 2018 Hall of Fame inductee, make his return to his alma mater where he won two National Championships.

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