McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team began its season with a five-set win over Earlham College at the Shirk Center on Friday night. The Titans, ranked 19th nationally, secured victories in the first, third, and fifth sets to defeat the Quakers (25-20, 23-25, 25-18, 22-25, 15-11).

Illinois Wesleyan finished with a .185 hitting percentage for the match and recorded at least a .200 clip in each of their winning sets. The team totaled 70 kills overall. Senior Taylor French led with 28 kills on a .294 attacking percentage and added 17 digs. Sophomore Alex Bardouniotis contributed 18 kills at a .238 rate, completed a double-double with 14 digs, and tied for the team lead in blocks with three.

Freshman Lauren O'Brien made her collegiate debut by splitting setting duties with junior Sophia Feeney. O'Brien posted 28 assists and collected a double-double with 13 digs. Feeney added 25 assists and had 15 digs along with two aces.

On defense, senior Kannyn Boyd finished one dig short of her career high by recording a team-best 32 digs. Five Titans reached double digits in digs as Illinois Wesleyan narrowly outperformed Earlham in that category (104-102). The Titans also led in kills (70-55), aces (12-7), and assists (61-49), while Earlham held an advantage in blocks (7-5). French and senior Hannah Tellor each served three aces; Bardouniotis and junior Eleanor Palmer both registered three blocks.

The match opened with Illinois Wesleyan taking an early lead after French scored the team's first point. After an initial sideout by Earlham, the Titans responded with five consecutive points to establish control. O'Brien's entrance into the match marked her first collegiate appearance as she assisted on several key plays during IWU's strong start.

Earlham narrowed the gap late in the opening set but could not complete their comeback as Illinois Wesleyan closed out for a 25-20 win.

After dropping the second set narrowly, IWU responded by regaining momentum early in the third set before fending off another push from Earlham. Key contributions from newcomers such as Whitaker helped maintain their lead before closing out that set at 25-18.

The fourth set went to Earlham but Illinois Wesleyan regrouped quickly for the decisive fifth frame. Freshman Audrey Chizzo recorded her first career kill to open scoring during a four-point run for IWU. Despite another rally from Earlham that brought them within one point late in the final set, Illinois Wesleyan secured victory behind crucial plays from Bardouniotis and French.

Looking ahead, Illinois Wesleyan will continue its home opening weekend on Saturday against Greenville University at 10 a.m., followed by No. 20 University of Chicago at 12:30 p.m.