PLYMOUTH, Wis. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team defeated Lakeland University, 3-0, behind set scores of 25-22, 25-19, and 26-24. The Titans improve to 4-0, while the Muskies drop to 3-3. 

Illinois Wesleyan broke multiple program records in the win. Sophomore Ethan Kuziela (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) broke both the three-set assist and the single-match assist record with 37 while freshman Aydin Provost (Chicago, Ill.-Mt. Carmel) cracked the three-set kills record with 21, a mark previously held by now assistant coach, Michael Eastman, who had 17 against Aurora, Feb. 3, 2024. The 21 kills also tied junior Bryce Williams (Chicago, Ill.-Whitney M. Young), who had 21 kills on Feb. 9, 2025 in a five-set win over Wabash for the third-most kills in a match.

In the first set, IWU raced out to a 6-2 advantage behind two kills from Provost and an ace from senior Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East). 

Trailing 9-7, the Muskies rattled off three straight points to claim their first lead of the set, 10-9. After a Provost kill evened the set at 10-10, the two squads split the next 16 points to knot the score at 18-18. A Provost kill followed by a kill from Williams put the Green and White up 20-18 and forced Lakeland to burn a timeout. Out of the stoppage, Lakeland went on a 3-0 run before Kuziela set Williams to tie the match at 21. 

With the match all square, sophomore Gavin Rohlwing (Tower Lake, Ill.-Barrington) finished off Kuziela's 13th assist of the set to make it 23-22. Kuziela got his first kill of the set on the next point to put Illinois Wesleyan on the doorstep. After Lakeland's final timeout, Provost nailed his first ace of the match to claim the first set for IWU, 25-22.

In set number two, Kuziela led a 3-0 run behind an ace and a Provost kill coupled with a Lakeland error to springboard Illinois Wesleyan ahead, 3-0. Kuziela set Williams, which gave IWU a 5-3 lead. Leading 9-7, two Lakeland attacking errors and a kill from freshman Dylan Quinn (Downers Grove, Ill.-Downers Grove North) gave the Titans a five-point edge. 

The Muskies cut the gap down to 12-10 before the Titans won four of the next six points, making it 16-12, resulting in a Lakeland timeout. Out of the pause, Quinn served a 3-0 run that consisted of two aces and Provost's 11th kill of the afternoon, which matched his young career-high to put IWU in control, 19-12. Two straight Lakeland errors boosted the Green and White lead to 22-14. 

Illinois Wesleyan hit .312 in the second set compared to .143 for Lakeland. Sophomore Charlie Bialek (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Bolingbrook) garnered his first kill of the season to tee up set point at 24-16. The Muskies rode a 3-0 run to trim the deficit to 24-19 before sophomore Patrick Dasbach (Lombard, Ill.-Willowbrook) notched his second kill of the match to put the Titans up two sets to none.

IWU jolted out to a 3-1 advantage in the third set courtesy of two Provost kills which elevated his career high to 13. The Titans took a 6-5 lead on a Rohlwing kill from Kuziela's 27th assist of the match, which set a program record, beating a three-set mark set by Vince DiCosola, Mar. 29, 2023. 

The Green and White led 17-15 before the Muskies embarked on a 4-0 run to take a 19-17 lead, resulting in a Titans' timeout. Out of the timeout, Kuziela claimed his 35th assist on a set to Williams to shatter the program's single-match assist record previously set by DiCosola against Augustana College, Apr. 1, 2023. 

Lakeland led 21-18 before two attack errors allowed IWU to shrink the margin to 21-20. After the two teams traded the next two points, a sanction to Lakeland coupled with a kill by Provost evened the set at 22. 

Following a kill from Lakeland's Jakob Donahue, Milka put the ball down to even the set at 23 all, resulting in a Lakeland timeout. An attack error by Lakeland and a service error by IWU made it 24-24. Provost's 21st kill set up match point for Illinois Wesleyan before freshman Ryan Jilly (Antioch, Ill.-Antioch) aced the Muskies to seal the set and the match.

The Green and White outhit Lakeland .287 to .181, while IWU's 41 assists, 37 from Kuziela, bested Lakeland's 32. 

Provost led the way with 21 kills, while adding on a team-best nine digs and two aces, hitting .531, which is the fifth-highest hitting percentage in a match for IWU. Kuziela also added on a team-high one solo block along with three block assists. 

The Titans remain on the road, Tuesday, Jan. 20 at Benedictine. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.