BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team began play in the Holiday Inn Express Classic III Friday night, Oct. 22, against College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin opponent Augustana College, Oct. 22. IWU defeated the Vikings in straight sets (25-11, 26-24, 25-21) to improve the team's overall record to 15-11 (6-1 CCIW), while Augustana's record dipped to 7-19 (1-6 CCIW). 

Illinois Wesleyan enjoyed a comfortable first set victory, despite Augie jumping out to an early 3-2 lead. IWU gained control with a nine-point run, fueled by back-to-back aces from senior Jessica McCall (Wayne, Ill. - Wheaton St. Francis) and kills by sophomore Lily Summers (Plainfield, Ill. - Plainfield North) and senior Courtney McAuliffe (Lemont, Ill. - Lemont), to take an 11-3 advantage. The Green and White's offense remained hot from there, as IWU ran away with a 25-11 victory. The Titans hit a whopping .579 for the set, with 12 kills on 19 attempts, while the Vikings tallied just six kills on a -0.095 clip.

In the second set, the Vikings bounced back with a favorable 13-3 lead. However, the Titans' second nine-point run of the night cut the deficit to one, 13-12. After trading points back and forth, senior Dana Kiszowski's (Schaumburg, Ill. - Schaumburg) kill, assisted by senior Madi Corey (Frankfort, Ill. - Lincoln-Way East) tied the score at 19 all. Facing set point for Augie, sophomore Taylor Babec (Joliet, Ill. - Plainfield Central) produced a kill to even the score at 24 apiece. In the end, the Titans prevailed in come-from-behind fashion to upend the Vikings 28-26 on a kill from McCall.

The teams played to a 7-7 tie in the third set before back-to-back service aces from freshman Ava Porada (Frankfort, Ill. - Lincoln-Way East) created a 10-7 advantage for IWU. Augie pulled within one, 12-11, but senior Amber Juarez (Bloomington, Ill. - Normal U High) produced back-to-back aces to increase the Green and White's lead to 14-11. Another kill by McCall and a Viking attack error stretched the IWU lead to 16-11. The four-point cushion proved to be the difference as the Titans completed the sweep with a 25-21 win on a powerful McAuliffe kill.

Offensively, McCall and McAuliffe accumulated double-digit kills. McCall notched a team-high 11 and completed a double-double with a team-best 13 digs. McAuliffe added 10 kills to go along with three blocks. Summers tallied seven and Babec added six, with Babec recording an attacking percentage of .500 for the match.

Corey and Porada had 19 and 15 assists, respectively. 

Sophomore Faith Washko (Springfield, Ill. - Sacred Heart-Griffin) collected nine digs for the Titan defense, as IWU out-dug Augie 46 to 43.

Illinois Wesleyan boasted an advantage in every statistical category including kills (39-25), blocks (5-3), and assists (38-25). Additionally, IWU ended the match with 11 aces with Juarez accounting for five. 

The Green and White compete in the final day of the Holiday Inn Express Classic III Saturday, Oct. 23. IWU will take on Alma College at 10:30 a.m., followed by No. 21 UW-Stevens Point at 1 p.m.