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Men's Volleyball celebrating blocks against North Central Feb. 28, 2026
Kodiak Creative
1
St. Norbert SNC 10-12,3-5 NACC
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 18-4,5-1 CCIW
St. Norbert SNC
10-12,3-5 NACC
1
Final
3
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
18-4,5-1 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
St. Norbert SNC 25 16 23 20 (1)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 23 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

Blocks Aplenty in No. 20 Men’s Volleyball Win over St. Norbert

Titans break single-match blocks record, finish with 17

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The No. 20 Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team took down St. Norbert College in four sets Friday afternoon, March 20, winning with set scores of 23-25, 25-16, 25-23, 25-20. The win, which is the sixth consecutive for the Titans, boosts them to 18-4 on the year, while SNC stumbles to 10-12. 

The match saw the Green and White establish a new program record for blocks in a single match, as the Titans finished with 17 rejections. Freshman Aydin Provost (Chicago, Ill.-Mount Carmel) led the way with a career-high eight blocks, closely followed by seven from sophomore Wilson Spaulding (Tucson, Ariz.-Catalina Foothills), who tied his career-best. Sophomore Gavin Rohlwing (Tower Lake, Ill.-Barrington) rounded out the top three with six stuffs.

Illinois Wesleyan's offense was powered by 18 kills from sophomore Ethan Kuziela (Chicago, Ill.-Marist), while Provost closely followed with 17. Both hitters finished the day with an attack percentage north of .400. Rohlwing added nine kills on a scorching .800 clip. The Titans saw the trio of senior Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East), Williams, and junior Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) notched two aces apiece. 

Leading a Green and White squad that hit .315 for the contest, Kuziela finished with a team-best 27 assists to register another double-double performance. Reutter added 24, narrowly missing out on eclipsing the 1000 career assists mark, as he finished the day one shy. 

Sophomore Ben Zima (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) led the back row defense with 16 digs, followed by eight from Williams, and Milka with six. 

As a team, IWU notched the advantage in kills (60-40), limiting St. Norbert to a .125 clip, aces (6-4), blocks (17-5), and assists (53-40). The Green Knights finished with the edge in digs, 39-35. 

After dropping the opening set, 25-23, Illinois Wesleyan responded with a dominant second set. All tied at five, Kuziela found Provost for back-to-back kills, igniting a 7-1 run for the home team. Spaulding and Milka teamed up for a block to follow, before Provost unleashed on an out-of-system ball for a kill, making it 9-5, as the Titans were on their feet in amazement. Spaulding and Provost rejected an attack to follow for IWU's fifth straight point, doubling the score at 10-5. Following a service error, Kuziela found Spaulding for a kill to get a quick sideout, and Rohlwing buried a ball to end the spurt, 12-6.

Holding onto the lead, the Titans put the set out of reach with four straight points, beginning with a service error. Provost placed a dish from Kuziela perfectly on the line for a kill and solo stuffed a Green Knight attack on the ensuing point. Williams did the same to follow, as the back-to-back rejections made it a 22-13 lead for the Green and White. 

Williams placed an ace in the back corner to cue set point, and following an attack error, Spaulding polished off the second set with a kill, evening the match at one set apiece with a score of 25-16. 

A closely contested third set saw the Titans trailing late, 18-14. Kuziela set Provost for a kill to get a much-needed sideout, beginning a run for the home team. The trio of Provost, Rohlwing, and Milka teamed up for a block to make it a two-point gap to follow. A SNC error saw the deficit move down to one, 18-17. The Green Knights responded with a kill to double their lead, but Milka and Kuziela notched back-to-back shots to even the score at 19. 

Following the two teams trading points, Reutter found Kuziela for a kill, leveling the set at 22. Provost and Spaulding teamed up for another rejection to put Illinois Wesleyan in front, 23-22, forcing St. Norbert to burn a timeout. The break did not stop the Titans, as Williams buried a set from Kuziela to bring up set point. SNC refused to give up, responding with a kill of its own, forcing head coach Brandon Mueller to use a timeout to settle his team. The stop in play proved to work for IWU, as Provost and Spaulding stuffed St. Norbert to give the Green and White the swing set, 25-23.

Ahead by one in the fourth, a 4-0 run for the Titans swung all momentum towards the home team. After a service error, Provost downed a ball sent over prematurely for a kill to make it a three-point gap. Using a triple block once again, Provost, Spaulding, and Milka followed an SNC attack error with a rejection, putting Illinois Wesleyan ahead by five, 20-15. 

Taking four of the last five points to close out the match, Milka roped his serve down for an ace to seal the victory, as IWU took the fourth and final set, 25-20.

The Green and White return its attention to College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play for the remainder of the season, as it hosts No. 14 Loras College Wednesday night, March 25. A key contest in the CCIW race, featuring two nationally-ranked squads, is set to begin inside the Shirk Center at 7 p.m.
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