Ethan Keutzer during national anthem Jan. 28, 2025

Men’s Volleyball Opens CCIW Play Against No. 19 North Central

Titans host Cardinals for Tuesday night match

2/17/2025 12:07:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Following a runner-up finish at the Springfield College Morgan Classic, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team opens College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin action against No. 19 North Central College Tuesday night, Feb. 18. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Shirk Center.

The Titans (10-4) most recently fell to top-ranked New York University in the Morgan Classic Championship in straight sets. The match saw the trio of freshman Ethan Kuziela (Chicago, Ill.-Marist), and sophomores Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) and Bryce Williams (Chicago, Ill.-Whitney M. Young) pace the offense with seven kills apiece, while Reutter also recorded a team-high 16 assists. Junior Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East) led the defense with seven digs, and freshmen Trey Marek (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) and Gavin Rohlwing (Tower Lake, Ill.-Barrington) each posted a team-high two blocks.

Williams has led the offense with 137 kills, averaging 3.11 kills per set, while Rohlwing is second with 102, and Kuziela sits in third with 88. Reutter holds a team-high 18 aces, followed by Williams with 14, and freshman Ben Zima (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) with 10.

The duo of Reutter and senior Vince DiCosola (Aurora, Ill.-Oswego East) have orchestrated the majority of the offense this season. Reutter leads the team with 254 assists, averaging 4.88 per set, while DiCosola is second with 230, an average of 4.42 per set.

Defensively, Milka leads the team in digs, having accrued 119, an average of 2.25 per set. Williams is second with 80, closely followed by Reutter's 77 digs. Already having broken the single-season blocks record, Rohlwing leads the team with 58 rejections this season. His average of 1.14 blocks per set leads the CCIW and ranks ninth nationally in Division III. Reutter and senior Jake Kougan (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) are tied for second with 28 stuffs.

IWU and NCC (7-3) will meet on the court for the ninth time, with the Cardinals having won all previous meetings. The two teams last met April 3, 2024, and the Green and White saw now-assistant coach Mike Eastman register a team-high 11 kills and two aces. Milka notched a team-leading 10 digs, while Kougan finished with four blocks, tying for the team-high with Javier Romano. Reutter and Bradley Benson led the offense with 13 assists apiece. North Central enters the match off a sweep over Dominican University Saturday, Feb. 15.

A live stream of the match, featuring Matt Sosler and IWU women's volleyball outside hitter Alex Bardouniotis on the broadcast, can be accessed by clicking here, while live stats can be tracked here.

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