After an astounding freshman campaign, Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) of the Illinois Wesleyan University volleyball team, was named the women's volleyball College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Newcomer of the Year, Monday, November 7.
French became the fourth Titan in program history to receive the specialty award, and the first since now-assistant coach Tyler Brown was honored in 2015. The Romeoville, Ill. native joins elite company, as the other Titans to be named the best newcomer in the conference were Katie Butson (2006), Kyleigh Block (2014), and Brown (2015).
The honor adds to French's rapidly growing resume, as the freshman was an All-CCIW First Team honoree and two-time conference player of the week selection. French garnered all-tournament honors in five of the six tournaments the Titans played in during the 2022 campaign.
In an impressive first season for the Green and White, French accumulated 394 kills and 486.5 points, both of which were second-best in the conference behind CCIW Offensive Player of the Year Adrianna Rodriguez from North Park University. The freshman led the league in service aces with 72, an average of 0.66 per set, the fourth-best average in program history.
In 28 games played, French recorded a double-double performance in 17 as she displayed her versatility on both sides of the court. She recorded 387 digs for the Titans, second-most on team, and notched 32 total blocks, the fourth-highest total for the Titans in the 2022 season.
French looks to be a big factor for the 2023 season, as Illinois Wesleyan University will return all but three players from this year's roster. The Titans landed three on the All-CCIW team, as junior Faith Washko (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart-Griffin) joined French on the first team, and sophomore Abby Erdman (Aurora, Ill.-Metea Valley) was named to the second team, all three set to return for IWU next year.
Original source can be found here.
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