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Wilson Spaulding & the Titans celebrate a big point in the CCIW Tournament semifinal match
Audrey Peterson
0
Loras LOR 20-6,6-4 CCIW
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 22-5,8-2 CCIW
Loras LOR
20-6,6-4 CCIW
0
Final
3
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
22-5,8-2 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Loras LOR 20 20 24 (0)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 25 26 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

Men’s Volleyball Sweeps No. 10 Duhawks to Advance to CCIW Title Match

Titans top Duhawks for third time this season

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The No. 16 Illinois Wesleyan University men's volleyball team's historic season will continue following a clean sweep of No. 10 Loras College in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament semifinals Wednesday night, April 8, inside the Shirk Center. The Titans beat the Duhawks for the third time this season, this time by set scores of 25-20, 25-20, 26-24, to move to 22-5 on the year. Loras, which saw its at-large hopes take a major hit with the sweep, stumbles to 20-6.

Freshman Aydin Provost (Chicago, Ill.-Mount Carmel) topped a balanced attack for the Titans that resulted in a team hitting percentage of .317 with five tallying six-or-more kills. Provost's 10 were a match-high, with sophomore Ethan Kuziela (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) and junior Bryce Williams (Chicago, Ill.-Whitney M. Young) adding in eight apiece. Sophomore Wilson Spaulding (Tucson, Ariz.-Catalina Foothills) tacked on seven off eight swings, good for a jaw-dropping .875 clip. Freshman Dylan Quinn (Downers Grove, Ill.-Downers Grove North) contributed six kills.

Kuziela, a CCIW Setter of the Year candidate, dished out a team-best 20 assists alongside four aces and seven digs. He tied Quinn for the team-lead with three blocks. Junior Brenden Reutter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) posted a near double-double with 14 assists alongside nine digs. 

Sophomore Ben Zima (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) racked up a team-high 12 digs, with senior Jace Milka (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Plainfield East) tacking on eight.

Overall, IWU led in nearly every statistical category. The Titans held the upper hand in kills (44-35), assists (41-29), hitting percentage (.317 to .258), blocks (5-4), and digs (42-39). Perhaps the most staggering statistical domination came in aces, as the Green and White finished with 10 to Loras' two. 

Illinois Wesleyan controlled nearly the entire first set as Kuziela's ace lifted the home team to a 4-3 advantage. The strong serve sparked a run for the Green and White that featured kills by Provost and Spaulding as IWU charged ahead, 7-3.

Back-to-back swings by Provost kept the Titans in front, as the CCIW Newcomer of the Year used the tape to drop in a kill before roping a shot down for another. Aces by Reutter and Milka sandwiched a Quinn kill as Loras halted play with a timeout.

Leading 13-9 out of the reset, Williams went crosscourt for a kill, and Kuziela smashed an ace to stretch the lead to five, 16-11. Loras burned another timeout late in the set, but Williams won a joust at the net for a kill and 23-18 lead. After Provost smoked a shot down to cue set point, IWU's lone senior answered the call with a kill to clinch the set, 25-20.

The Green and White's momentum carried over to the next set as the home team jolted out to a 6-1 lead. Quinn began the scoring with a kill and Milka tooled a block before following with an ace. A pancake Zima kept a rally alive and set up a Williams' kill on a Quinn assist. After Milka painted the line with a crosscourt ace, Williams punched one off the block to give IWU a five-point lead, 6-1.

Illinois Wesleyan remained in front for the duration of the set, despite Loras trimming the lead to as few as one several times down the stretch. Spaulding sealed the set with back-to-back kills to polish off a 25-20 victory.

The third was far tighter as Loras grabbed a 13-11 lead midway through the set. A leaping dig by Zima set up Williams for a punch through the block and sparked a Titan run. Kuziela notched one of his four aces on the night to lift IWU to a 14-13 lead ahead of a Loras timeout.

Spaulding kept momentum with the home team out of the pause in play, pinging a kill off a pair of Duhawks. Kuziela followed with an ace on the line to stretch the lead to three, 16-13, but the Duhawks soared back to stake a 19-18 edge moments later.

Provost brought the Shirk Center crowd back into play with a monstrous kill to bring the Titan faithful to their feet as the set leveled at 19. Kuziela and Quinn followed with a stuff to reclaim the lead.

Taking the lead of their lone senior, the Titans stayed calm despite the Duhawks tying the match at 23 and then again at 24. With Milka's calming presence keeping the Green and White in the moment, the Duhawks faltered to cue up match point, 25-24, sending Spaulding back to the service line. Stepping back to serve, Spaulding split a serve down the middle and right on the backline to stun Loras and complete the sweep, 26-24.

Illinois Wesleyan will compete for the CCIW Tournament Championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament Saturday, April 11, as the second-seeded Titans travel to top-seeded Carthage College. First serve between IWU and the No. 3 Firebirds is scheduled for 5 p.m. inside Tarble Arena.
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