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Jace Milka against Concordia Chicago Jan. 30, 2025
© AshtinElder
1
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 10-7,0-3 CCIW
3
Winner North Park NPU 9-6,2-1 CCIW
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
10-7,0-3 CCIW
1
Final
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North Park NPU
9-6,2-1 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 18 26 25 12 (1)
North Park NPU 25 28 21 25 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

Men’s Volleyball Stumbles at North Park

Titans fall in four sets to Vikings

CHICAGO - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team fell in four sets at North Park University in a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin contest Wednesday night, Feb. 26, dropping the match with set scores of 25-18, 28-26, 21-25, and 25-12. With the loss, IWU dips to 10-7 overall, 0-3 in CCIW play, while NPU improves to 9-6 overall, and 2-1 in league action. 

Chicago natives sophomore Bryce Williams (Chicago, Ill.-Whitney M. Young) and freshman Ethan Kuziela (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) led the offense for Illinois Wesleyan. Williams put up 10 kills on a .231 clip, while Kuziela added eight kills, also recording a .231 attack percentage. Junior Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East) added seven kills for the Titans. 

Sophomore Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) led the Green and White in assists and aces with 18 and three, respectively. Kuziela split setting duties with Reutter, resulting in a career-high 14 assists. Milka added a pair of aces for the IWU offense. 

Getting the nod at libero, freshman Ben Zima (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) led the team in digs, finishing with six. Kuziela and Williams each accrued five for the Titans. Freshman Gavin Rohlwing (Tower Lake, Ill.-Barrington) led the team with seven blocks, two coming on solo stuffs. Kuziela was second with five rejections, tying his career-best, and senior Jake Kougan (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) added three. 

Illinois Wesleyan registered 40 kills, but was limited to a .149 attack percentage, while North Park notched 52 kills on a .279 clip. The Titans held a 6-3 advantage in aces, but were outnumbered in digs (42-28), assists (43-37), and blocks (11-10). 

An attack error gave the Green and White an early, 7-5, lead, but NPU rattled off four straight to jump ahead, 9-7. Kuziela fed Kougan for a kill to bring the set within one, 9-8, but IWU never found its footing in the opening set, ultimately dropping it, 25-18. 

The Titans opened the second set in a groove, as Reutter started the 4-0 run with back-to-back aces. Rohlwing and Kuziela teamed up for a block, and Milka notched a kill to complete the opening run. After two straight North Park Points, Kuziela used a block error to register a kill, and sandwiched an NPU miscue with another kill to put IWU ahead, 7-2.

All tied at 12, Reutter followed a Vikings service error with his third ace of the set, but the Vikings responded with two straight points to level the score at 14 apiece. Facing set point, Rohlwing followed a North Park service error with a solo block, and Milka aced the Vikings to net the score at 24-24. Williams tied the set at 26 all with a kill, burying a set from Reutter, but North Park claimed the last two points to take set two, 28-26.

IWU opened the third set on a 4-1, using a Rohlwing block, and three NPU errors to take the early lead. The Vikings clawed back to bring the match within one, 7-6, but the Titans took the next three points via a service error, a block from Reutter and Kougan, and a Kuziela ace, upping the score to 10-6 in favor of the visitors.

Once again, North Park responded to slash the lead to one, 11-10, and again IWU responded, as a Kuziela kill sparked a 4-0 run. Rohlwing and Milka stuffed a NPU attack following a Vikings error on the point prior, and Milka closed the run with another kill to put IWU up, 15-10. 

A late run saw the lead slip back to one, 21-20, before the Titans saw a kill from Kuziela and back-to-back attack errors push set point for the visitors. Kuziela fed Rohlwing for a kill to take the third set, 25-21. 

The fourth set was all Vikings, as Illinois Wesleyan ran out of steam, falling 25-12 to conclude the match. 

The Titans continue their clash with the Vikings, this time hosting Augustana College for a Saturday afternoon match March 1. IWU and Augie will face off at 2 p.m. inside Shirk Center.
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