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Ethan Kuziela hitting against Benedictine Feb. 9, 2025
© AshtinElder
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 10-3,0-0 CCIW
0
Arcadia ARC 4-7,0-0 Middle Atlantic
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
10-3,0-0 CCIW
3
Final
0
Arcadia ARC
4-7,0-0 Middle Atlantic
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 25 25 (3)
Arcadia ARC 21 21 13 (0)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

Men’s Volleyball Sweeps Arcadia to Open Morgan Classic

Rohlwing breaks single-season blocks record

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team opened the Morgan Classic, hosted by Springfield College, with a sweep over Arcadia University Friday night, Feb. 14. The Titans (10-3) defeated the Knights (4-7) with set scores of 25-21, 25-21, 25-13 to advance to the championship match tomorrow, and await the winner of No. 6 Springfield and top-ranked New York University.

Illinois Wesleyan was dominant in head coach Brandon Mueller's return to Blake Arena, needing less than 90 minutes to secure the win. Mueller, a 2005 Springfield alumnus, won two National Championships for Springfield, and coached his first match in his alma mater arena. The Titans finished with 39 kills on an impressive .305 clip, while limiting AU to 29 kills on a .181 attack percentage. IWU also held the edge in assists (34-27) and aces (8-2), while each team finished with 22 digs, and Arcadia had an 8-6 advantage in blocks.

Freshman Ethan Kuziela (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) led the offense with 16 kills, the second-most in a three-set match in program history, doing so on a .500 clip. Sophomore Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) was second with eight kills, hitting .417 for the contest, followed by six kills from fellow sophomore Bryce Williams (Chicago, Ill.-Whitney M. Young). Reutter led the team with a trio of aces, while freshman Ben Zima (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) added a pair.

Reutter also led the Titans in assists, finishing with 20, followed by senior Vince DiCosola's (Aurora, Ill.-Oswego East) 11. 

Defensively, junior Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East) finished with a team-high seven digs, many of which were diving rally-savers. Reutter was second with four, followed by three each from Williams and senior Jake Kougan (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East). The two-time reigning College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Defensive Player of the Week, freshman Gavin Rohlwing (Tower Lake, Ill.-Barrington) led the net defense with five blocks. Reutter added three rejections, followed by two from Kuziela.

A Reutter kill tied the first set at 11 apiece and sparked a run of five straight points for the Green and White. The run saw a kill from Williams, an Arcadia attack error, and back-to-back Reutter aces to push the Titans ahead, 15-11. 

The Knights fought back to within two, but Kuziela buried a dish from Reutter, and senior Ryan Myers (Hawthorn Woods, Ill.-Stevenson) and Rohlwing teamed up for a block to up the score to 18-14. The block marked the 52nd of the season for Rohlwing, establishing him as the new single-season blocks record holder for the program, needing just 13 matches to break the previous record. 

An Arcadia attack error cued set point, but AU fought it off with back-to-back kills to cut the deficit to three, 24-21. Kuziela's hand remained hot, as Reutter found him for his sixth kill of the match to secure the first set for Illinois Wesleyan, 25-21. 

Down early to start the second, IWU tied the set at 10 all with a service error, and followed with a Kougan and Kuziela block, another Kuziela kill, and an AU attack error put the score at 13-10 in favor of the Titans. After a Knights sideout, the Titans took the next two via a service error and a block from Kuziela and Rohlwing, giving the Green and White a 15-11 edge. 

The Titans held on to the lead the rest of the way, as Arcadia errors closed out the set in favor of IWU, 25-21. 

The third set was all Illinois Wesleyan, as the Titans jumped out to an early 5-1 lead. Kuziela set Kougan for a kill to start the set, followed by three Kuziela kills in four points. Up 8-4, the Titans stretched the lead even further by taking five of the next six points. DiCosola fed Reutter to begin the run, and Zima followed with an ace. After a Knights sideout, a service error pumped the momentum back to the Titans, as Kougan downed a ball sent over prematurely. Rohlwing ended the run with an ace to push the advantage to 13-5. 

Following three straight Arcadia points, the Titans closed the match with four straight of their own. Reutter began the run by downing a set from DiCosola, followed by a kill from Williams. Zima set up match point with an ace, and an attack error gave the Green and White the sweep with a third set score of 25-13. 

Illinois Wesleyan advances to the Morgan Classic Championship match, and awaits the winner of Springfield and NYU. First serve is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.
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