BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan women's volleyball team wrapped up play at Holiday Inn Express Classic II, going down in hard-fought matches against Earlham College and Aurora University Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Shirk Center.

The Titans fell in five sets against Earlham with scores of 25-17, 24-26, 23-25, 25-20, and 3-15 to begin the day. In the second leg of its double dip, IWU came up short against Aurora 3-1 (25-17, 27-29, 25-11, 25-18).

Sophomore Amber Juarez (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal U High) led IWU with 25 digs against EC, followed by junior Jessica McCall (Wayne, Ill.-Wheaton St. Francis HS) with 17 while adding a team-high 18 kills. 

The Titans tallied seven blocks, led by freshman Evy Makris (Orland Park, Ill.-Sandburg HS) with four assisted. Freshman Riley Epperson (Payson, Ill.-Payson Seymour HS) and sophomore Dana Kiszowski (Schaumburg, Ill.-Schaumburg HS) assisted on three each.

Against Aurora, McCall led the attack with 10 kills, while senior Emily Steininger (Melrose Park, Ill.-West Leyden HS) added six of her own. Illinois Wesleyan continued its strong play at the net, racking up a season-best 12 blocks. Makris once again paced the Titans, notching a career-best eight, while Kiszkowski and Epperson added five and four rejections, respectively.

Illinois Wesleyan continues College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin competition at Millikin University Friday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m.