Men's Volleyball National Anthem April 4, 2026

Audrey Peterson

Men’s Volleyball Hosts Loras for Nationally-Ranked CCIW Semifinal Clash

Titans check in at No. 16 in latest AVCA Poll

4/7/2026 3:30:00 PM

AVCA Release

LEXINGTON, Ky. & BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The 16th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team will welcome No. 10 Loras College to the Shirk Center for the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament Semifinal Wednesday night, April 8. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Illinois Wesleyan (21-5) earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament after posting an 8-2 record in conference contests this season, earning its first postseason bid. Loras (20-5) finished 6-4 in league play to earn the third seed. The Duhawks have made four CCIW Tournament appearances and won the 2024 crown. The winner of the match will face the winner of top-seeded Carthage College and No. 4 seed North Central College Saturday, April 11.

The Green and White is one of three conference teams in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association top-20, released Tuesday, April 7. IWU checked in at 16, while Carthage is third, and the Duhawks are 10th.

The CCIW released its men's volleyball awards ahead of the tournament Tuesday, April 7. Sophomore Ethan Kuziela (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) became the first Titan to earn First Team All-CCIW honors, while freshman Aydin Provost (Chicago, Ill.-Mount Carmel) and sophomore Gavin Rohlwing (Tower Lake, Ill.-Barrington) were second team all-conference awardees. Provost earned CCIW Newcomer of the Year, becoming the first in program history to earn a specialty award, while Rohlwing became the first to earn multiple All-CCIW honors. The Titans coaching staff of Brandon Mueller, Mike Eastman, Alec Mucha, and Joe McDonagh reeled in their first CCIW Coaching Staff of the Year accolade after guiding the Green and White throughout the record-setting season.

Illinois Wesleyan enters the postseason with the best kills per set average in the country, bringing in a mark of 13.44. Kuziela leads the way with 308 kills, an average of 3.21 per set on a .347 showing. The sophomore leads the nation with five triple-double performances this season. Provost sits second with 295, an average of 3.24 per set, doing so with a .298 clip. Junior Bryce Williams (Chicago, Ill.-Whitney M. Young) is third with 228 kills, averaging 2.68 per set.

Kuziela also leads the team with 601 assists, an average of 6.26 per set. Junior Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) follows with 427 assists, averaging 5.02 per set. Together, the duo lead an offense that is averaging 12.36 per set, the second-highest in Division III. IWU's team hitting percentage of .273 ranks 22nd nationally. Kuziela and senior Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East) are tied for the team-lead in aces with 25 apiece, while Williams follows with 20.

Defensively, sophomore Ben Zima (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) holds the team-high in digs with 268. His average of 2.79 digs per set ranks 19th in the country. Kuziela is second behind 172 digs, followed by Williams with 137. Rohlwing tops the team in blocks with 70 on the season. Kuziela's 65 stuffs rank second, while Provost rounds out the top three with 51 rejections. With an average of 2.066 blocks per set as a team, the Titans enter Wednesday ranked 20th.

IWU and LC will meet on the court for the third time this season, and 13th overall. The Titans have won both matches this year, but Loras owns a 10-2 advantage all-time. Most recently, Illinois Wesleyan swept Loras in a top-20 showdown inside Shirk Center Wednesday night, March 25. IWU's offense was dominant in the contest, finishing with a .423 attack percentage behind 39 kills with only six attack errors. Kuziela led the way with 14 kills on a .481 clip, and added 12 assists. Reutter tallied a team-high 20 helpers, while Kuziela, Zima, and Williams all tied for the team-lead in digs with seven apiece. Rohlwing led the net defense with six stuffs. The Duhawks gutted out a five-set win over North Central Saturday, April 4, to secure the three seed in the conference tournament.

A live stream of the match, featuring Matt Sosler and IWU women's volleyball All-American Alex Bardouniotis, can be found by clicking here. Live stats can be tracked by clicking here.

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