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Men's Volleyball celebrating win over No. 19 MSOE Feb. 8, 2026
Audrey Peterson
0
MSOE MSOE 4-4,0-0 NACC
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 9-3,0-0 CCIW
MSOE MSOE
4-4,0-0 NACC
0
Final
3
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
9-3,0-0 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
MSOE MSOE 20 25 16 (0)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 27 25 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

Men’s Volleyball Upsets No. 19 MSOE in Sweeping Fashion

Titans pick up second top-20 win in program history

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - For the second time in program history, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team upset a nationally ranked opponent, as the Titans (9-3) swept No. 19 Milwaukee School of Engineering inside the Shirk Center Sunday, Feb. 8. IWU made quick work of the Raiders (4-4), as it won with set scores of 25-20, 27-25, 25-16. 

Sparking a bit of déjà vu, the Titans defeated a 19th-ranked opponent for the second time, doing it just over a year apart. Last season, IWU downed No. 19 Dominican University inside Shirk Center Feb. 6, 2025, the first ranked win in school history. 

Illinois Wesleyan seemed in control for the entire contest, winning nearly every statistical battle. The Titans posted 43 kills on a .414 attack percentage, while limiting MSOE to 38 on a .214 clip. IWU also held the advantage in assists (40-32), digs (35-32), and blocks (10-2), while each team had a pair of aces. 

The Green and White offense was led by nine kills from senior Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East) and sophomore Ethan Kuziela (Chicago, Ill.-Marist). Freshman Aydin Provost (Chicago, Ill.-Mount Carmel) added eight. Kuziela's 19 assists tied for the most in the match, while junior Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) finished with 16. 

On the defensive end, sophomore Ben Zima (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) and Milka recorded team-highs of eight digs apiece. Junior Bryce Williams (Chicago, Ill.-Whitney M. Young) closely followed with seven. Sophomore Gavin Rohlwing (Tower Lake, Ill.-Barrington) led the hefty net presence with four blocks. Kuziela, Milka, and freshman Dylan Quinn (Downers Grove, Ill.-Downers Grove North), who got to celebrate his 19th birthday with a win, all followed with three blocks apiece. 

Ahead by two, a kill by Williams sparked a run for the Titans, as he used a set from Reutter to make it 16-13. A diving dig by Milka led to a Kuziela smartly-placed shot for a kill, with the four-point cushion causing MSOE to call timeout. Out of the break, Quinn downed a ball sent over early to extend IWU's lead to five, 18-13.

The Raiders fought back to make it a two-point contest, but a 4-1 run for Illinois Wesleyan helped put the opening set out of reach. Reutter found Quinn for a kill, and a Provost kill followed. Kuziela fired off an ace to put the lead back up to five before MSOE could get a sideout. The Titans quickly got the ball back, as Williams pushed an attack off the block for a kill to put the score at 22-17. 

Kuziela caught the defense off guard, as he dumped one over for a kill to cue set point, and Milka found an opening for a kill to close out set one in favor of the home team, 25-20.

Trailing 15-13 in the second set, Illinois Wesleyan utilized a 9-2 run to steal the momentum. The run featured three Kuziela kills, two kills and a solo stuff from Williams, a Provost kill, and an MSOE miscue to give the Green and White a 22-17 lead. 

The Raiders refused to give up on the set, though, as they came back to tie it at 24. Williams found Milka, who tooled the block to make it 25-24, but MSOE staved out set point once more. Kuziela laced one down to put the Titans back out in front, and Williams solo blocked the Raiders to slam the door on set two, 27-25. 

With a one point lead, a Provost kill opened a streak of seven straight points for the home team. Rohlwing and Provost followed with a rejection, and after three straight Raiders errors, Milka and Rohlwing blocked an attack to make it 20-13. Keutzer found Milka for a kill to push the lead to eight, 21-13. 

Reutter dished a set to Rohlwing, who set up match point with a kill, and Rohlwing ropes an ace down the line to complete the sweep with a set three score of 25-16. 

Illinois Wesleyan returns to the road, as it heads to Concordia University Wisconsin for a Thursday night match, Feb. 12. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside R. John Buuck Field House.
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