McLean County Times

After securing a share of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Regular Season Championship, the Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team is set to host the IWU Classic this weekend. The event will take place at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois, with matches scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

The Titans, holding a 16-6 record, recently achieved a five-set victory against Augustana College. Junior Taylor French was pivotal in this win with 22 kills. Other key contributors included junior Hannah Tellor, sophomore Cailin Shannon, and freshman Alex Bardouniotis, each adding eight kills. Bardouniotis also recorded a career-high 16 digs.

Taylor French leads the team's offense with 345 kills, ranking her 13th in Division III nationally. She also stands sixth in points and 11th in aces. Hannah Tellor follows with 178 kills and boasts an attack percentage that leads the conference.

Sophia Feeney heads the team's setters with 368 assists. Senior Abby Erdman and fifth-year Jordan Pierce follow closely behind. Defensively, Kannyn Boyd tops the team in digs while Eleanor Palmer has been dominant at the net with blocks.

The tournament begins Friday night with Millikin University facing Simpson College at 5 p.m., followed by Millikin versus Albion College at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Illinois Wesleyan will play Simpson at 10 a.m., concluding their participation against Albion at 2 p.m.

This tournament marks only the eighth meeting between IWU and Simpson since their series began in 2003; Simpson currently holds a slight edge over IWU but lost their last two encounters. In contrast, IWU has won all previous matches against Albion since their first meeting in 2007.

For those interested in following along remotely, live streams and statistics are available online through a dedicated tournament central page.