McLean County Times

After securing a bye in the first round, Illinois Wesleyan University's women's volleyball team is set to compete against North Central College in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament Semifinal. The match will take place on Thursday, November 14, at 7 p.m. inside Shirk Center.

The Titans, with a season record of 20-9, recently defeated Wisconsin Lutheran College. This victory marked their first 20-win season since 2018 and the 15th under head coach Kim Nelson-Brown. In this match, ten players from the Titans recorded kills, including Jordan Pierce and Taylor French with ten each. Eleanor Palmer contributed six kills. Abby Erdman led with 23 assists, while Sophia Feeney added 11 assists.

Four Titans were named to the All-CCIW teams with three receiving specialty awards. Taylor French was honored as the CCIW Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year and received her third First Team All-CCIW honor. Hannah Tellor joined her on the first team; Kannyn Boyd and Sophia Feeney were named to the second team. Alex Bardouniotis was recognized as CCIW First-Year Student-Athlete of the Year, while Kim Nelson-Brown was named Coach of the Year.

French has been instrumental for Illinois Wesleyan's offense throughout the season with a total of 437 kills nationally ranked at twelfth place. Her average of 4.05 kills per set ranks twenty-fourth nationally as well.

Illinois Wesleyan will face North Central (22-7) for their fortieth meeting since their series began in 1994; they currently hold a lead in their series history at twenty-five wins compared to fourteen losses against NCC.

A live stream link can be found on iwusports.com under women’s volleyball schedule.