BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team battled for a five-set win over North Central College at the Shirk Center Wednesday night, Oct. 9. The Titans moved to 3-2 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play with the 3-2 victory.
IWU bounced back from a tight 26-24 setback in the first set and cruised past the Cardinals, 25-9, in the second and even the match at one apiece. NCC claimed the third, 25-18, before Illinois Wesleyan returned the favor to force a decisive fifth set. A back-and-forth fifth saw the Titans pull away, 15-9, to win the match 3-2.
As a team, Illinois Wesleyan held advantages in kills (51 to 45), blocks (11 to 6), digs (78 to 73), and aces (11 to 3). IWU hit .141 as a team, while North Central finished with a .104 clip.
Sophomore
Dana Kiszkowski (Schaumburg, Ill.-Schuamburg HS) turned in a career-night for the Titans, finishing with a career-high 11 kills on a .360 attacking percentage to pave the way for a balanced Titan offense. Junior
Jessica McCall (Wayne, Ill.-Wheaton St. Francis) tied Kiszkowski for the team-lead with 11 kills and freshman
Evy Makris (Orland Park, Ill.-Sandburg HS) chipped in seven.
Illinois Wesleyan put together a strong defensive performance that saw three players finish with three-or-more blocks and four players tally double-digit digs. Sophomore
Courtney McAuliffe (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont HS) notched a career-best seven blocks, while Makris and Kiszkowski added four each. Sophomore
Amber Juarez (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal U High) paced IWU with 20 digs. McCall and sophomore
Madi Corey (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East HS) registered 15 digs apiece, with Corey's total setting a career-high. Freshman
Grace Sanders (Bloomington, Ill.-Bloomington) contributed 11 digs.
Illinois Wesleyan opens up a seven-match roadtrip at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's Dig Panici Classic Friday-Saturday, Oct. 11-12. There, the Titans will face UW-La Crosse and UW-Stevens Point Friday, Oct. 11, at 3:30 and 6:30 p.m., respectively. IWU will wrap up the weekend against tournament host UW-Whitewater Saturday, Oct. 12, at 12:30 p.m.
