McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team, ranked sixth nationally, is set to host the IWU Tournament III on Friday and Saturday, October 31 and November 1. The tournament will take place at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois, and features a competitive lineup including No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, No. 5 Juniata College, and Millikin University.

Illinois Wesleyan (21-2) recently secured its second consecutive College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Regular Season Championship after defeating Carroll University in four sets on Wednesday night. This marks the first time in program history that the Titans have successfully defended their title and are the first repeat league champions since Millikin achieved this in 2016 and 2017.

During the match against Carroll University, senior Taylor French became the program's all-time kills leader with her 1778th kill, surpassing now-assistant coach Tyler White. French’s record-setting kill ended the third set in favor of the Titans.

The Titans will open tournament play against UW-Oshkosh (24-2) on Friday night at 7 p.m. The event will also feature a Halloween costume contest between members of the softball and women's basketball teams during an intermission between sets. On Saturday at 1:30 p.m., Illinois Wesleyan will celebrate Senior Day with a match against Juniata College (23-2). Pregame ceremonies will honor seniors Hannah Tellor, Kannyn Boyd, Raegan Watts, and Taylor French for their contributions to the program.

French leads IWU’s offense with 310 kills this season, averaging 3.92 per set. Sophomore Alex Bardouniotis has contributed 233 kills while Tellor has added 157. French also tops the team in service aces with 60; her average ranks her among national leaders.

Setting duties have been shared by junior Sophia Feeney and freshman Lauren O'Brien, who have helped IWU maintain one of Division III’s top assist averages at 12.49 per set.

On defense, Boyd leads with 329 digs while Bardouniotis and French follow closely behind. Tellor leads at the net with 51 blocks; junior Eleanor Palmer has recorded 49 blocks so far this season.

Illinois Wesleyan faces UW-Oshkosh for the 24th time in series history; UW-Oshkosh currently holds a significant advantage over IWU but lost their last regional championship meeting in straight sets—a result IWU aims to reverse this weekend. Both French and Boyd were named to last year’s NCAA Marietta Regional All-Tournament Team following that match.

Juniata College enters as defending three-time national champions and has not faced Illinois Wesleyan since 2006. The Eagles begin tournament play against Millikin on Friday afternoon before facing IWU on Saturday.

All matches from the tournament will be available via live stream and live statistics.