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Men's Volleyball huddle against Carthage April 11, 2026
Audrey Peterson
0
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 22-6,8-2 CCIW
3
Winner Carthage CARTH 22-3,9-1 CCIW
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
22-6,8-2 CCIW
0
Final
3
Carthage CARTH
22-3,9-1 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 26 21 14 (0)
Carthage CARTH 28 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

Men’s Volleyball Clipped by Carthage in CCIW Tournament Championship

Titans await hopes of at-large bid to NCAA Tournament

KENOSHA, Wis. - In a nationally ranked College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament Championship match, the 16th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team fell to No. 3 Carthage College Saturday, April 11, stumbling with set scores of 28-26, 25-21, 25-14. With the loss, IWU dips to 22-6, while Carthage improves to 22-3 and earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Titans will look for an at-large bid to the 21-team field, which is set to be announced at 10 a.m. ET Monday, April 13. 

Sophomore Ethan Kuziela (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) led the offense with a productive day, finishing with 14 kills and no errors on a .538 clip. He also added 14 assists, one shy of junior Brenden Reutter's (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) team-leading 15 helpers. Freshman Aydin Provost (Chicago, Ill.-Mount Carmel) was second on the team with eight kills, followed by four apiece from sophomore Wilson Spaulding (Tucson, Ariz.-Catalina Foothills) and freshman Dylan Quinn (Downers Grove, Ill.-Downers Grove North). Senior Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East) tallied a team-high two aces. 

Sophomore Ben Zima (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) led the defense with six digs, while Kuziela added five. Provost, Milka, and Reutter chipped in three digs each. Provost and Quinn recorded the lone blocks on the night, each registering a solo stuff. 

As a team, the Titans recorded 33 kills on a .230 clip, but could not control the Firebirds, who finished with 43 kills on a .369 showing. Carthage held the upper hand in stats, finishing with the advantage in assists (39-32), digs (31-22), aces (4-3), and blocks (4-2). 

A competitive opening set saw the Green and White take a quick 5-1 lead out of the gates. After a service error gave the Firebirds the first point, Quinn got the Titans on the board with a solo block. Back-to-back attack errors were followed by an ace from Milka to make it 5-1, forcing the Firebirds to burn a timeout. 

The Titans tacked a few more onto their lead via CC miscues, and a Milka kill made it 11-5 in favor of the visitors. Carthage rattled off four straight to close in on the gap, slowly shifting momentum, 11-9.

Kuziela found Provost for a kill to put IWU up, 20-18, but an untimely service error sparked the Firebirds. After two straight attack errors, the Green and White saw its 22-19 lead erase, as CC responded with a 5-1 run, setting up set point, 24-23. A service error, and two kills by Provost kept the set alive, but Illinois Wesleyan could not string points together, falling 28-26.

The second set saw the two teams trade points until Carthage took a 16-13 lead. A CC service error kickstarted a run, as Reutter connected with Kuziela for a kill. An attack error leveled the score at 16, and after a sideout, Quinn bounced one off a Firebird to tie the score at 17. Junior Ethan Keutzer (St. Louis, Mo.-St. Louis University High) checked in and dropped in an ace to make it 18-17, cuing a Carthage timeout. 

After the break, CC responded with two straight points, but the Titans did not give up. Reutter found Kuziela for a kill, followed by Kuziela setting Provost, who tooled the block to take a 20-19 lead. Illinois Wesleyan could not close out the set, dropping it 25-21. 

The third and final set was all Firebirds, as they coasted to a 25-14 win and the CCIW Tournament Championship. 

Illinois Wesleyan will await its hopes at an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, which would be the Titans' first appearance in program history. The bracket is set to be announced at 10 a.m. ET during the selection show, which can be watched at ncaa.com.
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