McLean County Times

After beginning the 2025 season at home, the Illinois Wesleyan women's volleyball team is set to travel to Georgetown, Texas, for the Southwestern University Invitational on September 5-6. The Titans, currently ranked 16th nationally, will face Texas Lutheran University on Friday and then play against University of Puget Sound and Southwestern University on Saturday.

Illinois Wesleyan started its season with a strong performance at the IWU Tournament I, securing victories over Earlham College, Greenville University, and No. 20 University of Chicago. Seniors Kannyn Boyd and Taylor French, along with sophomore Alex Bardouniotis, were named to the all-tournament team. Boyd surpassed 1,000 career digs during the opening match.

Boyd also received national recognition as she was named American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Week—the first libero in program history to earn this honor. She also collected her third College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Defensive Player of the Week award.

French leads the team's offense with 41 kills so far this season and has moved into fourth place on Illinois Wesleyan's all-time career kills list after surpassing 1,500 kills. Bardouniotis follows with 36 kills and set a new personal best with 18 kills against Earlham. Senior Hannah Tellor has contributed 16 kills early in the season. Bardouniotis leads in service aces with seven; French has six; Tellor and Boyd have five each.

Freshman Lauren O'Brien tops the team in assists with 58 (5.27 per set), while junior Sophia Feeney is close behind with 54 (4.91 per set). Feeney needs just 24 more assists to reach 1,000 for her career.

On defense, Boyd recorded a team-high 65 digs over three matches (5.91 per set). O'Brien and Bardouniotis follow with 32 and 31 digs respectively. At the net, junior Eleanor Palmer leads with eight blocks; Tellor has seven; Cailin Shannon adds five.

The Titans will meet Texas Lutheran for only their second matchup ever—the previous meeting was in 2018 when Illinois Wesleyan won in straight sets at home. Texas Lutheran comes into this tournament after defeating Whitman College at their last outing.

Illinois Wesleyan will play Puget Sound for the first time in program history; Puget Sound recently earned its first win of the season by sweeping Pacific Lutheran.

The Titans are seeking their first victory over Southwestern after losing both previous encounters—the last being a three-set loss in 2015.

All matches from Southwestern will be available via live stream through provided links online.