McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team, currently ranked seventh nationally, will travel to Hope College for two matches against top-25 opponents on Saturday, September 27. The Titans, who hold a 12-0 record this season, are scheduled to play No. 14 Marietta College at 10:30 a.m. ET and the 18th-ranked Hope College at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Illinois Wesleyan recently secured a victory over Elmhurst University on September 24. Senior Taylor French led the team with six service aces and 13 kills, while freshman Lauren O'Brien contributed five aces and a team-best 13 assists. Senior Kannyn Boyd recorded nine digs, and junior Eleanor Palmer had three blocks in the match.

The Titans have demonstrated strong offensive performance this season, ranking fourth in the nation and first in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin with an average of 13.79 kills per set. French leads with 162 kills so far, averaging 4.15 per set on a .295 attack percentage. She is second all-time in career kills at Illinois Wesleyan with 1,632 and is approaching the program record of 1,777 held by assistant coach Tyler White (formerly Brown). Sophomore Alex Bardouniotis has contributed 110 kills this season, averaging 2.82 per set, while senior Hannah Tellor has added 78 kills at an average of two per set.

Juniors Sophia Feeney and O'Brien have been central to setting up plays for Illinois Wesleyan's offense this year. The team ranks fifteenth nationally in assists per set within Division III and leads its conference with an average of 12.26 assists per set. Feeney has provided a team-high of 214 assists; O'Brien follows closely with 196 assists.

French also leads the squad in service aces with a total of 28 through twelve matches this season and is four away from breaking Tiffany Hamblin’s career record of 240 aces set between 1999–2002. French needs another milestone as well—she is just twenty-three points away from surpassing Tyler Brown’s program record for career points (1,955.5).

On defense, Boyd leads the Titans with an average of over four digs per set—the best mark in their conference—while Bardouniotis and French follow behind her in dig totals. Tellor tops the team's blocking stats with twenty-seven blocks so far this season.

Saturday’s matchup against Marietta will be only their second meeting; last year Illinois Wesleyan defeated Marietta during the NCAA Tournament Second Round to advance further into regional competition.

Illinois Wesleyan will face Hope College for the tenth time since their series began in 1994; Hope currently holds seven wins to IWU's two victories overall.

Hope College will provide live streams for both matches online as well as live statistical updates.