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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team shook off a sluggish start to fend of Wheaton College, 3-1, in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play Tuesday night, Oct. 22, in the Shirk Center. The Senior Night win moved the Titans to 5-2 in league play and secured them a spot in the CCIW Tournament.
Prior to the match, IWU recognized seniors
Raina Emery,
Emily Steininger, and
Emily Kase. The trio
combined for 76 wins, two trips to the NCAA Tournament, a CCIW Championship, and the highest national ranking of No. 10 in school history.
The Thunder took a sloppy first set 25-21 before Illinois Wesleyan rattled off 25-21, 25-23, and 25-22 wins to lockdown the victory. Wheaton dropped to 13-10 overall and 2-5 in the CCIW, while IWU improved to 7-17 overall.
The sophomore duo of
Madi Corey (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East HS) and
Courtney McAuliffe (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont HS) led the way for the Green and White. Corey notched a triple-double, the first of her career, with 35 assists, 11 digs, and a career-high 10 kills. The Frankfort, Ill. native hit a team-best .304 for the match and also added a pair of blocks. McAuliffe tallied seven kills on a .292 clip to go along with a match-high seven blocks. Freshman
Grace Sanders (Bloomington, Ill.-Bloomington HS) added a 15-kill, 19-dig double-double, while also registering IWU's lone ace of the match.
For the match, the Titans held the edge in kills (55 to 38) and out-hit the Thunder .111 to .047. IWU also led the dig tally 90-82, while Wheaton owned a 12-9 edge in blocks and a 9-1 advantage in aces.
Illinois Wesleyan wraps up the home portion of the regular season with the final installment of the Holiday Inn Express Classic, Oct. 25-26. IWU kicks off the weekend against UW-Eau Claire Friday night, Oct. 25, at 7:30 p.m. The Titans follow with matches against UW-Platteville and UW-Oshkosh Saturday, Oct. 26.