McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team, ranked eighth nationally, is set to play North Park University in a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) match on Wednesday, October 1. The Titans currently hold a 13-1 overall record and are undefeated in conference play at 2-0. Their opponents, the North Park Vikings, have a 15-2 record and are also 2-0 in the CCIW. The match will take place at Carlson Gymnasium at 6 p.m.

Illinois Wesleyan's most recent game ended in a four-set loss to No. 18 Hope College on September 27, breaking their season-opening win streak at 13 matches. This run stands as the second longest in program history; only the 2018 team had a longer streak with 22 consecutive wins. In that match, sophomore Alex Bardouniotis led with 14 kills and added a team-high 17 digs for a double-double performance. Freshman Lauren O'Brien contributed with a team-best 21 assists and three aces.

In the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, Illinois Wesleyan moved up to No. 8. The top four teams remained unchanged: La Verne holds first place, followed by East Texas Baptist, UW-Oshkosh, and UW-Whitewater. UW-Eau Claire entered the top five after moving up ten spots. Illinois Wesleyan is currently the only CCIW team ranked in the poll; Carthage dropped out of the top-25 while both Carthage and North Park received votes.

Senior Taylor French recently broke two school records during last weekend’s games. She surpassed Tiffany Hamblin’s career mark for service aces with her ninth ace against Marietta College, bringing her total past Hamblin’s previous record of 240 set between 1999 and 2002. French also overtook now-assistant coach Tyler White (formerly Brown) for career points by reaching her 1956th point with a kill in the second set.

French leads Illinois Wesleyan this season with 182 kills (averaging nearly four per set) and has posted a .255 hitting percentage. Bardouniotis is second on the team with 135 kills (2.93 per set). Senior Hannah Tellor and junior Eleanor Palmer rank third and fourth in kills while maintaining hitting percentages above .300. French also leads in service aces with 39 so far this season.

On defense, senior Kannyn Boyd leads with an average of over four digs per set (187 total), followed by Bardouniotis and French. Tellor leads at the net defensively with thirty blocks; Palmer follows closely behind.

Historically, Illinois Wesleyan has dominated its series against North Park, holding a commanding lead of 37 wins to four losses all-time. In their last meeting on October 2, 2024 at Shirk Center, Illinois Wesleyan won in straight sets as French tallied fourteen kills on .324 hitting while Tellor anchored a defense that limited North Park to just .045 hitting efficiency.

North Park comes into Wednesday’s contest following a four-set victory over Carroll University on September 26.

A live stream of Wednesday's match will be available online along with live statistics.