McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team secured a decisive victory against North Central College in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament Semifinal. The Titans, who are the top seed, defeated the fourth-seed Cardinals with set scores of 25-16, 25-18, and 25-21 on Thursday night. This win propels them into the CCIW Championship match against Millikin University.

The Titans demonstrated superiority across all statistical categories, achieving 55 kills on a .312 attack percentage while restricting North Central to 35 kills at a .220 clip. They also led in digs (56-45), assists (54-34), blocks (6-5), and aces (4-1).

Junior Taylor French and freshman Alex Bardouniotis were instrumental in leading the Titan offense. French achieved a team-high of 13 kills with a .257 attack percentage, while Bardouniotis contributed 11 kills at a .240 clip. Junior Hannah Tellor added nine kills, and sophomore Cailin Shannon recorded eight.

Sophomore Sophia Feeney directed the team's play with 31 assists, nearing her career-high record. Senior Abby Erdman added another 15 assists, while junior Kannyn Boyd contributed seven. French also delivered two aces; Feeney and Boyd each had one.

On defense, French led with 16 digs marking her 20th double-double performance this season. Boyd followed closely with another 16 digs, while Feeney completed her double-double with 11 digs. Tellor was prominent at the net defense with three blocks alongside contributions from sophomore Eleanor Palmer.

The Titans started strong in the first set hitting .382 as a team. A cross-court kill by French gave IWU an early lead which they maintained throughout despite timeouts called by North Central.

In the second set, IWU continued their momentum establishing an early lead which they held onto despite efforts from North Central to close the gap.

The third set was more competitive but ultimately saw IWU secure their victory thanks to key plays including an ace from French and strategic attacks from Bardouniotis.

Illinois Wesleyan will host Millikin University for the CCIW Tournament Championship game on Saturday at Shirk Center starting at 4 p.m.