Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content
Men's volleyball celebrates defeating No. 11 Loras March 4, 2026
Kodiak Creative
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 15-4,3-1 CCIW
2
Loras LOR 12-4,1-3 CCIW
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
15-4,3-1 CCIW
3
Final
2
Loras LOR
12-4,1-3 CCIW
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 30 17 21 25 15 (3)
Loras LOR 28 25 25 19 11 (2)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

Men’s Volleyball Stuns No. 11 Loras in Five-Set Road Contest

Titans pick up best ranked win in program history

DUBUQUE, Iowa - In a season full of firsts, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team defeated No. 11 Loras College in a thrilling five-set College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin contest for the first time in program history Wednesday night, March 4, behind set scores of 30-28, 17-25, 21-25, 25-19, 15-11. It marks the best ranked win in program history, and the third all-time. With the win, the Titans improve to 14-4 overall, and 3-1 in CCIW play, while Loras slips to 12-4 and 1-3 in league action.

Continuing his dominant season, sophomore Ethan Kuziela (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) led the team with a career-best 23 kills on a monstrous .600 clip. The mark ties the school record for kills in a five-set match, and is tied for second all-time, while his attack percentage ranks tied for third. Junior Bryce Williams (Chicago, Ill.-Whitney M. Young) finished second on the squad with 14 kills on a .276 clip, followed by 13 from freshman Aydin Provost (Chicago, Ill.-Mount Carmel). 

Kuziela and junior Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) were the masterminds behind the IWU offense. Kuziela notched 25 assists to complete a double-double performance, while Reutter also added 25.

Defensively, sophomore Ben Zima (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) posted a team-best 13 digs, while Williams finished with 11 to complete his third double-double of the season. Sophomore Gavin Rohlwing (Tower Lake, Ill.-Barrington) recorded four blocks to lead the team, followed by three from Provost and Kuziela.

As a team, the Titans recorded the lead in kills (64-44), assists (57-39), and digs (47-43), while hitting .183 to Loras' .144. The Duhawks tallied the advantage in aces (4-0) and blocks (12-10).

Down 8-7 in the opening set, Illinois Wesleyan rattled off six straight points to swing momentum its way. Kuziela found Provost for a kill to kick off the run before popping off three straight of his own, forcing LC to call timeout. After the break, Rohlwing stuffed an attack and then downed a dish from Kuziela, putting the Titans up, 13-8.

The set saw the Duhawks mount a comeback, as extra points were needed to decide the winner. Loras went up 28-27, but Milka kept IWU's hopes alive with a kill. Kuziela found Williams to cue set point for the visitors, and a Loras miscue polished off set one, 30-28.

After dropping the next two sets, 25-17 and 25-21, Illinois Wesleyan faced a three-point deficit nearing the halfway point in the fourth, 14-11. Reutter set Rohlwing for a kill, beginning a string of nine straight IWU points. Following a few miscues, sophomore Wilson Spaulding's (Tucson, Ariz.-Catalina Foothills) kill gave the visitors a two-point lead as Loras called timeout. After the break, Zima found Provost for a kill, and after a pair of LC attack errors, Provost notched another, this time coming off a set from Kuziela. The run put the Titans up 20-14, as Loras burned its final timeout.

Coasting through the set, Kuziela fed Williams for a kill to push set point, and Kuziela finished it off himself with a kill to follow, as IWU forced a decisive fifth set, 25-19.

Down early in the fifth set, 4-2, Reutter set up Kuziela for one of his 23 kills to give Illinois Wesleyan some life. The next point saw Kuziela send one over to junior Patrick Dasbach (Lombard, Ill.-Willowbrook) for a kill, tying the set at four points apiece. Kuziela dropped in a kill to give IWU a 5-4 lead and the Titans never looked back, taking the final set, 15-11.

Illinois Wesleyan returns home to take on North Park University Saturday, March 7. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside Shirk Center.
Print Friendly Version