McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team experienced mixed results at the Aurora Triangular on Saturday, September 21. The Titans (8-5) initially lost to the University of Dubuque in a five-set match (25-18, 17-25, 25-23, 22-25, 16-14) but later defeated host Aurora University in straight sets (25-18, 25-15, 25-14).

In their first match against Dubuque (10-5), Illinois Wesleyan led in several statistical categories including kills (70-51), assists (65-44), digs (93-86), and attack percentage (.186-.167). However, they were outperformed by Dubuque in aces (10-4) and blocks (7-5). Junior Taylor French from Romeoville, Ill., led the team with 22 kills. Juniors Hannah Tellor and Morgan Harrington set career-highs with 15 and 14 kills respectively. Senior Abby Erdman and sophomore Sophia Feeney orchestrated the offense with Erdman finishing with a match-high of 29 assists and Feeney close behind with 27.

Freshman Alex Bardouniotis contributed two aces while junior Kannyn Boyd recorded a career-best of 33 digs. French added another 19 digs and Bardouniotis set a new personal record with 13 digs. Tellor also led the team defensively with four blocks.

Despite losing the first set to Dubuque, IWU rebounded in the second set thanks to back-to-back aces by Bardouniotis. The Titans maintained their lead throughout much of the set before closing it at 25-17. The third set saw another close loss for IWU at 25-23. They managed to stay alive by winning the fourth set but ultimately fell short in a tight fifth set where Dubuque claimed victory at 16-14.

In their second match against Aurora University, Illinois Wesleyan started strong with an early lead in each set. Tellor led the offensive charge with twelve kills while hitting .632 for the contest. French followed closely behind with ten kills and five aces just shy of her career best.

IWU's defense was again spearheaded by Boyd who tallied fifteen digs along with contributions from French who had twelve digs. The defensive trio of Tellor, Bardouniotis, and Palmer each secured two blocks.

Overall, IWU dominated statistically over Aurora University in all categories: kills (39-23), assists (36-21), digs (47-41), aces (8-4), and blocks (4-2). The Titans also boasted a higher hitting percentage at .286 compared to Aurora's .064.

The Titans will next face Elmhurst University on Wednesday, September 25 at R.A. Faganel Hall for a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin matchup scheduled for a 7 p.m. start time.

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