McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University women’s volleyball team began its season with a strong showing, securing straight-set victories over Greenville University and the University of Chicago during the final day of the IWU Tournament at Shirk Center in Bloomington on August 30. The Titans, ranked 19th nationally, improved their record to 3-0, marking their best start since 2021.

Three players from Illinois Wesleyan were selected for the all-tournament team: seniors Kannyn Boyd and Taylor French, along with sophomore Alex Bardouniotis.

Against Greenville (0-3), Bardouniotis led with nine kills and three aces. Hannah Tellor added seven kills, while French contributed five. Setting duties were split between Sophia Feeney and Lauren O’Brien, who recorded 14 and 12 assists respectively. Boyd had a team-high 12 digs, while Bardouniotis finished with a double-double by adding 10 digs. Eleanor Palmer led defensively at the net with three blocks.

Illinois Wesleyan took control early in the match against Greenville, maintaining momentum throughout each set. They limited Greenville to zero attack percentage while finishing with advantages in kills (26-19), assists (34-19), aces (11-3), digs (46-40), and blocks (5-3).

In their second match against No. 20 Chicago (2-1), head coach Kim Nelson-Brown called a timeout late in the first set that proved pivotal as the Titans rallied to win it 28-26. “The momentum stayed on the Titans’ side,” according to the release, as Illinois Wesleyan started strong in subsequent sets and managed to close out both for a sweep.

Bardouniotis again led offensively with nine kills; French followed with eight and Cailin Shannon added seven. At the service line, Bardouniotis tallied three aces while O’Brien posted a team-best 18 assists. Defensively, Boyd registered 22 digs and Tellor led blocking efforts with five.

Statistically, IWU edged Chicago in most categories: kills (39-35), aces (6-5), blocks (7-6), and assists (34-33). Chicago held a slight advantage in digs.

The Titans will next travel to Texas for the Southwestern University Tournament on September 5–6, where they are scheduled to face Texas Lutheran, University of Puget Sound, and Southwestern.