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Bryce Williams hitting in a match during 2025
© AshtinElder
2
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 12-10,2-6 CCIW
3
Winner Carthage CARTH 18-3,7-1 CCIW
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
12-10,2-6 CCIW
2
Final
3
Carthage CARTH
18-3,7-1 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 15 16 25 6 (2)
Carthage CARTH 21 25 25 22 15 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

Men’s Volleyball Pushes No. 6 Carthage to Brink, Falls in Five

Williams leads offense with 20 kills

KENOSHA, Wis. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team took sixth-ranked Carthage College to five sets inside Tarble Arena for an exciting College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Saturday, March 29. Taking the Firebirds (18-3, 7-1 CCIW) to five for the first time in the series history, IWU (12-10, 2-6 CCIW) could not pull off the upset bid, falling with set scores of 21-25, 25-15, 25-16, 22-25, 15-6. 

Senior Bryce Williams (Chicago, Ill.-Whitney M. Young) led the match with 20 kills, finishing one shy of his career-best. Junior Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East) and freshman Ethan Kuziela (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) followed with nine kills apiece. 

The duo of sophomore Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) and senior Vince DiCosola (Aurora, Ill.-Oswego East) orchestrated the Titan offense. Reutter tallied 21 assists, while DiCosola accrued 17. 

Williams bested his career-high in digs, finishing with 16 to secure his fourth double-double performance of the season. Reutter also added 16 digs to notch his fourth match with double-digit kills during his sophomore campaign. DiCosola and freshman Ben Zima (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) each added eight digs. The trio of Milka, senior Jake Kougan (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East), and freshman Wilson Spaulding (Tuscon, Ariz.-Catalina Foothills) finished with three blocks each, all coming by way of one solo stuff and two assisted. 

The Titans held the upperhand in kills, 52-48, but were limited to a .110 attack percentage, while Carthage notched a .207 clip. IWU also had the edge in assists, 49-42, and blocks, 60-48, but Carthage owned the advantage in aces (8-1) and blocks (14-7). 

IWU fell early in the opening set, 5-2, but quickly responded with a run. A Firebirds service error got the Green and White a much-needed sideout, and Wilson followed with a solo rejection. The next point featured a Kuziela kill by way of a Reutter set, evening the score at five apiece. 

Trailing 8-6, the Titans found their footing, taking nine of the next 11 points. Spaulding opened the run with a kill, burying a dish from DiCosola, and Williams followed a Carthage miscue with a kill off another DiCosola set. Carthage got a sideout following another attack error, but the Green and White stayed hot. DiCosola fed Milka for a kill, followed by another CC miscue, and Williams notched three straight kills to put the visitors ahead, 15-10. 

IWU owned the set the rest of the way, as Milka found Williams for a kill to push set point, and then notched a kill of his own to secure the opening set victory for the Titans, 25-21. 

After dropping the next two sets, 25-15 and 25-16, the Titans fought back to keep the match going. All tied at five, Reutter found Kuziela for a kill to ignite a 7-2 run for the Green and White. Kills from freshman Lane Sunley (Flossmoor, Ill.-Homewood Flossmoor) and Milka sandwiched a CC attack error before Carthage could claim the next two points. Sunley stayed hot with two kills in three points, as Williams squeezed another kill in between, pushing Illinois Wesleyan ahead, 12-7.

A run by the home team would trim IWU's lead to two, 18-16, but a service error sparked three straight points for the Titans. Reutter found Milka for a kill on the next point, and Sunley downed a dish from DiCosola to give the Green and White a 21-16 lead.

Pulling it back within two late, DiCosola sent a set to Reutter for a kill, locking in the fourth set for the Titans, 25-22.

Illinois Wesleyan ran out of steam in the fifth and final set, falling 15-6. In 10 meetings, this marks the first time the Titans have stolen two sets from the Firebirds.

IWU stays on the road, heading to Loras College for a CCIW clash Wednesday, April 2. The duel with the Duhawks is set for 7 p.m. inside Lillis Athletic & Wellness Center, and is a reschedule from the original March 5 date.
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