KENOSHA, Wis.- The Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team dropped a heartbreaking four set College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin contest at No. 5 Carthage College, 25-22, 21-25, 25-12, 27-25. The Titans drop to 12-4 (0-1 CCIW) while Carthage improves to 9-2 (1-0 CCIW)
Sophomore Ethan Kuziela (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) led IWU in kills and assists with 11 and 21 respectively, good for his fourth double-double of the year. Sophomore libero Ben Zima (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) notched seven digs.
In the opening set, the Titans and Firebirds traded the first six points. With the set tied at three, Carthage embarked on a 3-0 run to take a 6-3 advantage. Trailing, 7-4, a kill from Kuziela coupled with a Carthage attack error, cut the gap down to 7-6. Two three-point runs from the Firebirds made it 14-8, forcing IWU to burn a timeout. Out of the timeout, CC kept its lead at an arms-length, resulting in another Titan timeout at 20-15. IWU cut the deficit to 22-19 on a kill from freshman Aydin Provost (Chicago, Ill.-Mount Carmel). Two points later, another Provost kill forced Carthage to use a timeout at 23-20. Following the stoppage, sophomore
Gavin Rohlwing (Tower Lake, Ill.-Barrington) booked his third kill of the match. Senior
Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East) built momentum with a kill to make it 23-22, however, Carthage won the next two points to claim set one, 25-22.
In set two, back-to-back kills from Kuziela pushed IWU ahead 6-5. Tied at six, another Kuziela kill along with a score from freshman Wilson Spaulding (Tucson, Ariz.-Catalina Foothills). Another point from junior Bryce Williams (Chicago, Ill.-Whitney M. Young) put IWU up 9-6, forcing Carthage to use a timeout. Provost won a joust to maintain the three point lead at 11-8. Carthage made it a 12-10 set before another three-point blitz from the Green and White courtesy of a Rohlwing kill and two Firebirds miscues resulted in another CC timeout at 15-10. Post stoppage, another Carthage error increased the lead to 16-10. Up 21-16, Milka denied Carthage's Ben Heise. After a service error, the senior followed with a kill, putting IWU within two points of the set. Two straight Firebird points shrunk the gap to 23-19, forcing Illinois Wesleyan head coach Brandon Mueller to call timeout. An attack error by Carthage queued set point for IWU at 24-19. Following two CC points, Kuziela closed the set with his seventh kill of the match, securing the set 25-21, evening the match at one set all. In the second set. In the set, IWU held CC to a kill percentage of .000 while IWU hit .417.
Carthage raced out to a 5-1 lead in the third set and never looked back, winning the swing set 25-12. Williams tooled a double-block to tie the fourth set at three. A net violation on Carthage evened the score at 9-9. Williams booked his first ace of the night, which put IWU ahead 14-13. A Firebirds attack error gave Illinois Wesleyan its first two-point edge of the fourth set at 18-16, resulting in a Carthage timeout. Kuziela put down his 11th kill increasing the IWU lead to 20-17. Carthage's fifth attack error of the set extended the run to 6-1 and the lead to 21-17, resulting in the final CC timeout. Kuziela had north of 10 kills and 10 assists in his fourth straight contest. Three straight Firebird points trimmed the score to 23-20, causing IWU's first timeout. Out of the stoppage, two more Carthage points resulted in another Illinois Wesleyan timeout. With Carthage up 24-23 after a 6-1 run, Williams tooled a one-on-one block to extend the set. CC blew another match point on a service error, evening the match at 25-25. CC won the next two points to complete the fourth set, 27-25 on a 9-3 run.
The Titans resume CCIW action, Wednesday, Feb. 25 at Augustana College. First serve from Rock Island, Ill. is scheduled for 7 p.m.
