BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team battled College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin rival Carthage College on Senior Night for the regular season conference championship crown inside the Shirk Center Wednesday night, Oct. 27. The Titans were victorious in three sets (25-18, 25-19, 28-26) to claim their first CCIW Regular Season Championship since 2018. 

With the championship clinching victory, and obtaining the No. 1 seed going into the conference tournament, the Titans' record improved to 17-12 (7-1 CCIW), while the Firebirds record now sits at 19-10 (6-2 CCIW) and saw its attempt at nine straight wins come up short. 

The Titans dominated the first set with a 25-18 victory. Back-to-back aces in the early going from senior Madi Corey (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) made the Titan lead 9-5. IWU never relinquished that lead. Fueled by a hot offense, IWU pushed their lead to 18-10 to force a Firebird timeout. Corey led the Titans with team-highs with six kills and seven assists. Fellow seniors Jessica McCall (Wayne, Ill.-Wheaton St. Francis) and Courtney McAuliffe (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) each had four kills and contributed to a .448 Titan hitting percentage. 

The Firebirds came out hot in set two taking a 16-12 lead. However, the Titans would come roaring back with Corey behind the serving line. The Titan defense fueled an 8-0 run to take a 20-16 lead. McCall had three kills and Corey had two aces during the run. Sophomore libero Faith Washko (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart-Griffin) recorded back-to-back aces to get the Titans to match point and gave IWU a 25-19 second set victory. 

Illinois Wesleyan took an early 12-6 lead in the third set, but this time it was the Firebird's turn for a comeback. Carthage stormed back to take a 15-14 lead, but the Titans kept it close. Sophomore Lily Summers (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield North) and McCauliffe combined for a block late in the set, to put the Titan lead to 19-18 and force a Carthage timeout. The Firebirds came back and evened the score at 22 all, but a Carthage serving error gave the Titans another shot at match point. The Firebirds took the next two points to take a 26-25 lead before an error made way for an IWU victory over the CCIW's preseason favorite, 28-26.

Offensively, the trio of seniors McAuliffe, McCall, and Corey led the team. McAuliffe had 13 kills on a monster .440 hitting percentage, Corey had 10, and McCall added nine. Fellow senior Dana Kiszkowski (Schaumburg, Ill.-Schaumburg) contributed eight kills. 

Setters Corey and freshman Ava Porada (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln Way East) had 20 and 18 assists, respectively. Corey rounded out her second triple-double of the year with 11 digs.

Libero Faith Washko recorded a team-high 14 digs with McCall adding 11. 

IWU bested the Firebirds in attacking percentage (.236-.183) and digs (55-46). Additionally from the service line, IWU recorded seven aces to the Firebirds four. Corey had a match-high four aces, while Washko added three.

Next up for the Titans is conference tournament play where the Titans secured the number one seed and home court advantage. The Green and White will face the winner of Tuesday's quarterfinals matchup between the No. 4 and No. 5 seed. The Titans will then play the winner in the conference semifinal match Thursday, Nov. 4 at the Shirk Center.