BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team ran out of steam against the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Friday night, Oct. 25, inside the Shirk Center as the Titans dropped their first match of the Holiday Inn Express Classic III by a 3-2 tally.

IWU jumped out in front 2-0 in the match, winning set one 25-22 and set two 25-16, but UWEC stole the momentum wit ha 26-24 win in the third. The Blugolds went on to take the final two sets 25-18 and 17-15 to stun the Titans. With the loss, IWU is now 7-18 overall, while UW-Eau Claire moved to 15-8 on the year.

Illinois Wesleyan led UW-Eau Claire in digs, 92 to 82, and blocks, 12.5 to 12, but the Bluegolds held the edge in kills (59 to 57) and aces (4 to 2).

A big night from sophomore Amber Juarez (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal U High) highlighted IWU's defensive efforts. Juarez totaled a career-high 34 digs to go along with a career-best 10 assists, while freshman Evy Makris (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg HS) and sophomore Courtney McAuliffe (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont HS) tied for the team lead with six blocks. 

Sophomore Dana Kiszkowski (Schaumburg, Ill.-Schaumburg HS) led the Titans offense with 13 kills on a .367 clip. Sophomore setter Madi Corey (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East HS) flirted with her second straight triple-double as she finished with 38 assists, 13 digs, and seven kills, and junior Jessica McCall (Wayne, Ill.-Wheaton St. Francis HS) and freshman Grace Sanders (Bloomington, Ill.-Bloomington HS) notched double-doubles. McCall recorded 12 kills, 18 digs, and three aces, while Sanders contributed 11 kills and 18 digs.

Illinois Wesleyan picks back up tomorrow, Oct. 26, against UW-Platteville at 10 a.m. The Titans finish up the weekend with a 3 p.m. match against UW-Oshkosh.