McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team concluded the Blugolds Alumni Weekend Invitational in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, with two victories on Saturday, October 18. The Titans, ranked sixth nationally, improved their season record to 18-2 after defeating Cornell College in five sets and sweeping the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in straight sets.

Against Cornell College, Illinois Wesleyan secured a five-set win with scores of 25-13, 22-25, 24-26, 25-22, and 15-13. The Titans posted a .221 hitting percentage and performed strongly in the decisive fifth set, recording 12 kills with only one attack error for a .407 efficiency. They led in kills (71-52), digs (97-86), and assists (67-47). Both teams finished with 11 aces, while Cornell had an advantage in blocks, 11-5.

Senior Taylor French led Illinois Wesleyan with 23 kills on a .263 hitting percentage. Senior Hannah Tellor contributed 15 kills on a .419 clip and five blocks. Sophomore Alex Bardouniotis added 13 kills. From the service line, Bardouniotis and senior Kannyn Boyd each had three aces, and freshman Lauren O'Brien contributed two. Junior Sophia Feeney and O'Brien shared setting duties, tallying 28 and 27 assists respectively.

Defensively, French recorded 22 digs for her fifth career match with at least 20 kills and 20 digs. Sophomore Alysa Lawton finished with 17 digs, and O'Brien added a career-high 15. Tellor led the team in blocks with five.

The Titans took control early in the first set and held off a late push by Cornell to win it. After dropping the next two sets, Illinois Wesleyan rebounded in the fourth to force a fifth set. The final set was closely contested until French secured the match-winning point for the Titans at 15-13.

In their second match of the day, Illinois Wesleyan defeated UW-Stevens Point in straight sets: 25-22, 25-19, and 25-22. French again led offensively with 19 kills on a .295 hitting percentage. Junior Eleanor Palmer contributed eight kills, while Bardouniotis and junior Cailin Shannon each had six. Feeney and Bardouniotis both served three aces; O'Brien added two more.

Boyd led defensively with 23 digs, followed by Bardouniotis with 19. French registered her second double-double of the day with ten digs. The team's blocking efforts included solo blocks from French and Palmer.

Illinois Wesleyan built momentum through key runs in each set against UW-Stevens Point and capitalized on errors by their opponent to secure the sweep.

The Titans will remain on the road for their next match against Washington University (WashU) on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.