McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team, ranked eighth nationally, secured a 3-0 victory against North Park University in a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) match held Wednesday night in Chicago. The Titans improved their record to 14-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play after winning the sets 25-18, 25-17, and 25-17.

Illinois Wesleyan demonstrated strong offensive depth with six players recording at least five kills each. Senior Hannah Tellor and sophomore Alex Bardouniotis led the team with nine kills apiece, both hitting .500 or better. Freshman Carly Whitaker posted a career-high eight kills, while senior Taylor French and junior Eleanor Palmer each added six. Junior Cailin Shannon contributed five kills.

Setting duties were split between junior Sophia Feeney, who finished with 20 assists, and freshman Lauren O'Brien, who added 17 assists. O'Brien also led the team with three service aces. Bardouniotis contributed two aces as well.

On defense, senior Kannyn Boyd recorded a match-high 12 digs. Bardouniotis had 11 digs, followed by French with eight. Palmer registered four blocks in her hometown of Chicago; Shannon had two blocks.

The Titans outperformed North Park in several statistical categories: they led in kills (46-25), assists (44-25), and digs (43-32). Both teams finished with eight aces, while North Park edged Illinois Wesleyan in blocks by one.

The opening set was tied at 13 before O'Brien connected with Bardouniotis and Palmer for consecutive kills. The Titans pulled ahead following errors from North Park and key plays from Feeney and Watts to close out the first set.

Illinois Wesleyan controlled the second set from the start after an ace by Feeney and an error by North Park prompted an early timeout from the Vikings. A run that included blocks and kills from Palmer, Shannon, and Bardouniotis gave IWU a significant lead which they maintained throughout the set.

In the third set, a block from Whitaker and Palmer initiated another strong run for Illinois Wesleyan. Consistent scoring helped secure their sweep as Tellor closed out the final set.

Illinois Wesleyan will have a break over the weekend before traveling to Carthage College for another CCIW matchup on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at Tarble Arena.