Kim Nelson-Brown Head Women's Volleyball Coach/Sr. Women Administrator/Associate A.D. | Illinois College Athletics Website
Kim Nelson-Brown Head Women's Volleyball Coach/Sr. Women Administrator/Associate A.D. | Illinois College Athletics Website
The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team commenced its 2024 season with a victory on Friday evening, August 30, during the first day of the Wittenberg Fall Classic in Springfield, Ohio. The Titans (1-0) achieved a sweep against the 24th-ranked Mount St. Joseph University with set scores of 25-20, 25-19, and 25-22.
Illinois Wesleyan's success was attributed to effective serving, a balanced offense, and strong defense. The team recorded 14 aces, tying for the fifth-most in a three-match set in program history. Jordan Pierce and Taylor French each contributed four aces, while Alex Bardouniotis and Kannyn Boyd added three each.
Statistically, Illinois Wesleyan led in kills (32-27), hitting percentage (.185 to .120), and assists (30-23). Mount St. Joseph had a slight edge in digs (41-40) and outblocked Illinois Wesleyan seven to four.
French led the Titans with 11 kills on 22 attempts (.364 hitting percentage), while Bardouniotis had eight kills in her collegiate debut. Pierce provided a team-high 19 assists and narrowly missed a double-double with nine digs. Boyd was the match leader in digs with 16.
The first set saw an early tie at three before MSJ took advantage of errors to lead 6-3. A kill by Morgan Harrington initiated a seven-point run for IWU that included contributions from several players and forced an MSJ timeout at 9-6. Despite this run, MSJ briefly regained the lead at 13-12 before another IWU surge secured the set at 25-20.
In the second set, neither team established dominance until Bardouniotis' kill put IWU ahead at 16-13. Subsequent errors by MSJ extended IWU's lead to five points before closing out the set at 25-19.
The third set began with MSJ scoring first but was quickly overturned by French's four-point spurt including three consecutive aces. Later contributions from Abby Erdman and Pierce solidified IWU's control despite late resistance from MSJ; ultimately securing the sweep with a final score of 25-22.
Illinois Wesleyan will continue their participation in the Wittenberg Fall Classic on August 31 with matches against Otterbein University and Baldwin-Wallace University scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET and 3 p.m. ET respectively.
Alerts Sign-up