McLean County Times

Sophomore Taylor French from Illinois Wesleyan University's women's volleyball team has been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Region 8 First Team. The announcement was made on November 15, marking the second consecutive year that French has received this honor.

French is the sole representative from the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin on the first team. Other league members recognized include North Park University's Christina Gatta and Kailee Itzenhuiser from Millikin University, both of whom received honorable mentions.

Throughout her sophomore season, French was recognized as the CCIW Offensive Player of the Year and was selected for the First Team All-CCIW. She set records by being named CCIW Hitter of the Week six times during the season, including four consecutive weeks. Additionally, she made history by becoming the first player in AVCA history to earn back-to-back AVCA/GameChanger Division III National Player of the Week awards across all NCAA Divisions on October 31 and November 7.

French concluded her regular season with impressive statistics, ranking among the top five nationally in several categories: kills (570), points (637.5), kills per set (4.79), and points per set (5.36). Her performance included an attack percentage of .226, along with leading her team in digs (425) and aces (48). She also contributed 30 total blocks throughout her participation in all 30 matches for Illinois Wesleyan University.

The recognition marks the 29th time a player from Illinois Wesleyan University has received All-Region honors and is the 23rd under head coach Kim Nelson-Brown's tenure. French joins a distinguished group of Titans who have earned this accolade multiple times, including Amy Rajala, LeAnn Genzel, Tiffany Hamblin, Jenna Passananti, Emily Hagen, and Tyler Brown.