The Illinois Wesleyan University women’s volleyball team recorded a 3-0 victory over Texas Lutheran University on Friday, September 5. The Titans won with set scores of 25-15, 25-15, and 25-19. This result brings Illinois Wesleyan’s season record to 4-0, while Texas Lutheran falls to 2-4.
Illinois Wesleyan posted 18 service aces during the match, tying the program record for most in a three-set match and marking the second-highest total in any match in team history.
Senior Taylor French led the Titans’ offense with nine kills. Senior Hannah Tellor added eight kills with a .571 attack percentage. Junior Cailin Shannon and sophomore Alex Bardouniotis each contributed seven kills and both hit above .200.
Junior Sophia Feeney and freshman Lauren O’Brien shared setting duties, finishing with 16 and 14 assists respectively. The team’s attack percentage was .301 for the match. Feeney is now eight assists away from reaching her career milestone of 1,000 assists.
At the service line, O’Brien recorded seven aces, tying for fifth-most in a three-set match in program history. French had five aces and Bardouniotis had three. Feeney added two aces while Tellor contributed one.
Defensively, senior Kannyn Boyd led Illinois Wesleyan with 13 digs. Bardouniotis followed closely with 12 digs and French added nine. Tellor had two blocks; Bardouniotis and freshman Carly Whitaker each had one block.
The first set was tied at eight before Illinois Wesleyan took control following a kill by Tellor assisted by O’Brien. The Titans then went on a run that included back-to-back kills from French and Bardouniotis as well as an ace from French after a timeout by Texas Lutheran.
In the second set, after losing the opening point to Texas Lutheran, Illinois Wesleyan scored six straight points highlighted by three aces from French within four points. The Bulldogs managed to tie it at eight before another run put IWU ahead for good in that set.
During the third set, both teams were tied at thirteen before Palmer’s kill gave IWU an edge they would not relinquish. Bardouniotis served two consecutive aces late in the set to help secure the win.
Illinois Wesleyan will continue their schedule on September 6 against University of Puget Sound at noon followed by Southwestern University at 3:30 p.m., according to information available on their official athletics website.
