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Ethan Kuziela setting Jan. 24, 2026
Audrey Peterson
3
Winner Aurora AUR 1-0,0-0 NACC
0
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 4-2,0-0 CCIW
Winner
Aurora AUR
1-0,0-0 NACC
3
Final
0
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
4-2,0-0 CCIW
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Aurora AUR 25 26 25 (3)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 12 24 22 (0)
1
Trine Trine 3-4,0-0 MCVL
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 5-2,0-0 CCIW
Trine Trine
3-4,0-0 MCVL
1
Final
3
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
5-2,0-0 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Trine Trine 21 25 20 20 (1)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 22 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

Titans Split Home Opener, Complete First of Two Home Tournaments

Kuziela records first triple-double, third in IWU history

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Playing its first matches of the season inside Shirk Center, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team split a pair of matches Saturday, Jan. 24. Playing in the IWU Tri I, the Titans (5-2) dropped a three-set contest with 10th-ranked Aurora University (25-12, 26-24, 25-22), before rebounding to down Trine University in four sets with scores of 25-21, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20. 

The match against Trine (3-4) saw sophomore Ethan Kuziela (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) record his first collegiate triple-double, the third in program history. Kuziela joins junior Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) as Titans to achieve the feat, as Reutter recorded two during the 2025 season. Kuziela finished the TU match with 16 kills, 24 assists, and 10 digs. 

Illinois Wesleyan 0, No. 10 Aurora 3
Opening the day against the Spartans, IWU fell in straight sets behind scores of 25-12, 26-24, 25-22. Freshman Aydin Provost (Chicago, Ill.-Mount Carmel) totaled a team-high 10 kills on a .400 attack percentage, and added two aces. Junior Patrick Dasbach (Lombard, Ill.-Willowbrook) finished with nine kills, while Kuziela tallied eight. Kuziela led the team in assists, as he notched 20 in the contest. 

Defensively, sophomore Ben Zima (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) racked up a team-best seven digs, followed by six from junior Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) and senior Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East). Freshman Dylan Quinn (Downers Grove, Ill.-Downers Grove North) notched a team-leading three blocks, including one solo rejection.

As a unit, the Green and White were outnumbered in kills (38-34), aces (6-2), assists (35-32), and digs (33-29), but picked up the edge in blocks, 4-3.

Down 17-7 in the opening set, head coach Brandon Mueller called a timeout to get the Green and White going. Kuziela fed Dasbach for a kill out of the break, as IWU would take four of the next six points. After a service error, Quinn and Dasbach teamed up for a block to cut the deficit to eight, 18-10. 

The Titans could not manage to get the set any closer, eventually falling 25-12. 

Trailing 22-20 in the second, the Green and White mounted a comeback, beginning with a Spartans service error. Sophomore Cael Whitchurch (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) found Kuziela for a kill to tie the set at 22, and Milka and Bialek stuffed an attack to cue set point for the Titans, 24-23. Two straight IWU miscues swung momentum back Aurora's way, as the Spartans came back to take the second set, 26-24.

The Green and White jumped out to a 6-4 lead early with the help of a 5-1 run. Kuziela found Dasbach for back-to-back kills, and Quinn solo stuffed the Spartans to make it 4-3. After a sideout, Provost tooled the block, and followed with an ace to put IWU ahead by two.

Needing to string points together, Illinois Wesleyan took four straight to retake the lead midway through the set. Provost added another kill to his stat line, and once again followed with an ace. The next rally saw Dasbach finish a dish from Kuziela for a kill to swing the set back towards the Titans, 15-14. A bad set by Aurora made it a two-point contest, 16-14. 

A late surge by the Spartans saw them reclaim the set, taking it 25-22. 

Illinois Wesleyan 3, Trine 0
Illinois Wesleyan responded in its second match of the day, as the Titans 59 kills on a .301 clip, while limiting Trine to 41 kills on a .184 showing. The Green and White also finished with the advantage in assists (54-37) and digs (55-51), while the Thunder notched the edge in blocks (5-4) and aces (8-3)

Kuziela's 16 kills came on a .382 attack percentage, as he tied for the team lead alongside Provost, who finished the match hitting .500. Milka rounded out double-digit hitters with 10 kills. Reutter followed Kuziela in the assist column, as he totaled 19, while Zima added five. On the defensive end, Zima posted 17 digs, while Kuziela bested his career-high with 10.

Mueller used a timeout with the home team down 16-13 in set one, and the break proved to be pivotal for the Green and White. After a service error by the Thunder, Whitchurch dropped a serve in for an ace, and Kuziela downed a dish from Reutter to make it a one-point contest. Following a TU kill, Quinn registered one of his own, and followed with an ace to erase the gap at 17. A bad set followed to give Illinois Wesleyan a slim, 18-17, edge.

Trine retook the lead with two straight points, but a service error sparked a 6-2 run for the Titans. Kuziela found Milka and Provost for back-to-back kills, and a Thunder miscue made it 22-19 in favor of the home team. The gap was enough to power IWU the rest of the way, as Dasbach ended set one with a kill, 25-21. 

After dropping set two, 25-22, Illinois Wesleyan responded in the third, quickly jumping ahead 7-1. Milka followed a service error with a kill, and Quinn tooled the block to make it 3-0. Kuziela found Provost on the ensuing point to make it four straight before Trine could register a sideout. Dasbach found Provost for an out-of-system kill, and registered one of his one shortly after to complete the early run.

The Green and White never trailed in the swing set, as Dasbach once again ended it with a kill, this time with a set score of 25-20. 

All tied at 15 in the fourth, freshman Owen Rollinson (Rockton, Ill.-Hononegah Community) used the tape to his advantage to secure his first collegiate ace, breaking the stalemate. Kuziela lined a set from Reutter, and teamed up with Quinn on the following point for a block to extend IWU's lead to three, 18-15. 

The gap was enough to propel the Titans, and Kuziela ended his career night with a kill, claiming the fourth set, and the win, 25-20. 

Illinois Wesleyan remains home, hosting Rockford University for a Tuesday night match, Jan. 27. Action is set for 7 p.m. inside Shirk Center.
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