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Ethan Kuziela hitting against Carthage Feb. 22, 2025
© AshtinElder
0
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 12-9,2-5 CCIW
3
Winner North Central (IL) NCC 12-5,5-2 CCIW
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
12-9,2-5 CCIW
0
Final
3
North Central (IL) NCC
12-5,5-2 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 20 18 10 (0)
North Central (IL) NCC 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

Men’s Volleyball Slips at No. 19 North Central

Titans drop road contest in three sets

NAPERVILLE, Ill. - Beginning a stretch of four matches against top-20 teams, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team fell in straight sets at No. 19 North Central College, falling with set scores of 25-20, 25-18, 25-10. With the loss, IWU falls to 12-9 overall, and 2-5 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play. NCC improves to 11-5 overall, and 5-2 in CCIW contests.

Freshman Ethan Kuziela (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) led IWU with 10 kills on a .500 attack percentage, committing only one error on 18 swings. Sophomore Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) was second with five kills, followed by a trio of Titans with three kills apiece. 

Illinois Wesleyan saw setting duties split between senior Vince DiCosola (Aurora, Ill.-Oswego East) and Reutter. DiCosola posted a team-high 14 assists, while Reutter added nine.

Defensively, Kuziela, DiCosola, and sophomore Bryce Williams (Chicago, Ill.-Whitney M. Young) each finished with a team-best five digs. Senior Jake Kougan (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) was the lone Titan to record multiple blocks, finishing the match with two. 

The Titans were outpaced in kills (35-27), assists (30-26), digs (34-27), blocks (8-3), and aces (4-3), while hitting a mere .056, compared to NCC's .342.

Reutter fed Kuziela for a kill, and a Cardinals attack error saw IWU go ahead early, 7-4, in the opening set. North Central clawed back, but DiCosola dished back-to-back sets to junior Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East) and Reutter to push the Titans back ahead, 11-10.

Tied at 15 apiece, Kougan downs a ball to give the Green and White a slim, 16-15, edge, but three straight NCC points forced head coach Brandon Mueller to burn a timeout down 18-16.

Williams tooled a block to pull it within two, 21-19, but the Titans could not keep pace with the NCC offense, dropping the opening set, 25-20.

The second set saw Illinois Wesleyan trail 10-5 early, but four straight points for the Green and White brought the set back within reach. Williams downed a dish from DiCosola to start the run, followed by a solo stuff from Kougan. The block was followed by an attack error, and then DiCosola found a hole, as he snuck one over for a kill to make it a one-point game, making the score 10-9 in favor of the home team.

North Central responded by taking five of the next straight points, and Illinois Wesleyan was not able to recover, dropping the second set, 25-18.

The Titans ran out of steam in the third and final set, ultimately falling 25-10. 

Illinois Wesleyan remains on the road and will head to fourth-ranked Carthage College next Saturday, March 29. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. inside Tarble Arena.
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