BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The Illinois Wesleyan women's volleyball team upended North Central College by a final score of 3-0 (25-12, 25-21, 25-15) on Wednesday, September 20 to open the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) season with a win. Junior middle hitter Maddie Williams hit a whopping .700 from the floor with seven kills on 10 total attacks.

With a win the No. 19-ranked Titans improved to 7-4 (1-0 CCIW) while North Central fell to 6-2 (0-1 CCIW).

After trailing early in set one, 8-7, Illinois Wesleyan went on a 13-0 sparked by the service of senior Kyleigh Block. Junior Tyler Brown had three kills during this stretch while Williams added two. North Central committed eight attacking errors in the first set leading the team to hit a lowly -.028 against the Titans.

IWU led by as many as seven kills in the second set, but a late surge from the Cardinals cut IWU's lead to just three after a late 3-0 run left the score at 21-18 in favor of Illinois Wesleyan. Three more errors by way of North Central aided the Titans to victory in set two as it was capped off by a kill from Brown.

The two sides once again played close early in the third set with Illinois Wesleyan holding a slight 12-10 edge over North Central. From then on however, the Cardinals were unable to consistently earn side outs against the Titans (11-of-25 in set three). IWU used two 4-0 scoring runs to their advantage, putting the set out of reach and ending the momentum of North Central in the process.

Illinois Wesleyan held a distinct .260 to .075 hitting percentage advantage over the Cardinals en route to their fifth consecutive victory. IWU also committed less errors than North Central with just 11 attacking errors to 23 for the Cardinals. The Titans also won the defensive battle tallying nine blocks to zero for NCC.

Brown and junior Rachel Burkman tied for the team lead with nine kills apiece. Burkman earned her highest attacking percentage of the season at .471. Sophomore Kira Jackson led the team in assists with 23 while freshman Caitlin Meyer added 11. Brown also led the team in digs with 18 while Block followed closely with 13 of her own. Junior Heidi Dague, Burkman, Williams, and Brown all finished with two blocks.

What's Next?

Illinois Wesleyan plays host to their second tournament of the season this weekend with a four game slate that includes the likes of Rose-Hulman, UW-Oshkosh, Tufts, and Cornell. The Barker Chevrolet Classic II kicks off on Friday, September 22 with a pair of matches at 3:00 p.m. and will conclude on Saturday, September 23 with the final matches of the afternoons starting at 3:30 p.m. in the Shirk Center.