McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team, ranked sixth nationally, is set to face No. 13 Washington University in St. Louis on Tuesday, October 21. The match will take place at The Athletic Complex in St. Louis, Missouri, with a scheduled start time of 7 p.m. The event will be streamed live via FloSports, which requires a paid subscription.

Illinois Wesleyan enters the matchup with an 18-2 record, following a sweep of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at the Blugold Alumni Weekend Invitational. Senior Taylor French led the offense in that game with 19 kills and a .295 hitting percentage. Freshman Lauren O'Brien recorded a team-high 24 assists, while senior Kannyn Boyd contributed 23 digs. French and fellow senior Hannah Tellor earned all-tournament team honors for their performances over the weekend.

The Titans currently average 13.68 kills per set, ranking eighth in Division III. French leads the team with 276 kills this season, averaging four per set, and is 31 kills away from surpassing the program's all-time record of 1,777 kills held by assistant coach Tyler White. Sophomore Alex Bardouniotis has 200 kills, and Tellor has contributed 141 kills with a hitting percentage above .300. French also leads in service aces with 51 this season, ranking 25th nationally with an average of 0.74 aces per set.

Junior Sophia Feeney and O'Brien have managed the team's offense, which averages 12.46 assists per set—11th in Division III. Feeney leads with 388 assists, averaging 5.62 per set, while O'Brien has tallied 356 assists at a rate of 5.16 per set.

Defensively, Boyd has collected 295 digs this season, averaging 4.58 per set. Bardouniotis follows with 222 digs, and French has 205. Tellor leads the team with 48 blocks, closely followed by junior Eleanor Palmer with 41 blocks. Juniors Cailin Shannon and freshman Carly Whitaker each have 26 blocks this season. The team's defense has limited opponents to a .135 hitting percentage, with seven matches holding opponents below .100.

This upcoming match marks the 21st meeting between Illinois Wesleyan and Washington University since 1998. Washington University leads the series 15-5 and won the last matchup in four sets on October 31, 2024. In that match, Shannon led Illinois Wesleyan with 13 kills, Feeney had a team-best 22 assists, and Boyd recorded 18 digs. Washington University comes into this match after a four-set loss to Case Western Reserve University.

The match will be livestreamed through FloSports as part of the University Athletic Association's streaming contract, requiring a paid subscription for access. Free live statistics will also be available online.