McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team secured a victory against North Central College in a five-set match on Wednesday night, October 16. This win extends the Titans' winning streak to eight games, maintaining their perfect record for October and improving their overall standing to 15-5, with a 6-0 record in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. North Central's record now stands at 15-6 overall and 3-2 in league play.

Illinois Wesleyan had an advantage in kills (62-47) but was limited to a .098 attack percentage compared to North Central's .162. The Titans led in digs (114-108), assists (61-47), and aces (11-8), though they trailed slightly in blocks (7-6).

Junior Taylor French from Romeoville, Illinois, led the offense with 22 kills and achieved a career-high seven aces. Junior Hannah Tellor contributed 12 kills, while freshman Alex Bardouniotis added 11. Sophomore Sophia Feeney and fifth-year Jordan Pierce recorded 27 and 23 assists respectively.

Defensively, junior Kannyn Boyd led with 27 digs. French added another double-double performance with her 19 digs, while Bardouniotis recorded her first career double-double with a personal best of 15 digs. Senior Morgan Harrington had three blocks for the team.

The match saw several key moments including Bardouniotis opening the set favorably for IWU, French leveling the score at four apiece early on, and Tellor securing back-to-back kills to even the score at one point during the game.

After dropping the second set, Illinois Wesleyan responded strongly in the third set with French leading a critical run that included multiple kills and aces from both her and Pierce.

Despite losing the fourth set which pushed the match into a fifth set decider, IWU regained momentum early on through contributions from Tellor and Harrington. The decisive moment came when Tellor's kill put IWU at match point before French sealed victory with her seventh ace of the night.

Illinois Wesleyan will next host University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Friday night at Shirk Center. The event will feature Campers Night as well as Breast Cancer Awareness Night activities.