BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team went 1-1 on the first day of play at the Holiday Inn Express Classic I Friday evening, Sept. 10. The Titans (5-3) swept Monmouth College (5-2), before dropping a five-set heartbreaker to No. 11 Ohio Northern University (6-0). 

IWU defeated MC 25-13, 25-11, and 25-21. ONU topped the Titans 27-25, 19-25, 25-21, 22-25, and 15-12 in the nightcap. 

The Green and White dominated Monmouth in the straight set win. The Titans finished with a .245 clip, and used a 6-1 block advantage to hold the Scots attack to a .022 attacking percentage for the match. IWU held a 40-19 edge in kills and an impressive 10-1 advantage in aces. 

Senior Courtney McAuliffe (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) led the Titans with eight kills, while freshman Morgan Harrington (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield East) came up with seven kills on a .500 attacking percentage. Sophomore Taylor Babec (Joliet, Ill.-Plainfield Central) added six kills on a .500 attacking percentage off the bench. Freshman Ava Porada (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) tallied a team-high 17 assists along with a career-high four aces. 

Defensively, senior Amber Juarez (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal U High) and junior Evy Makris (Orland Park, Ill.-Sandburg) paved the way. Juarez racked up a team-high 16 digs, while Makris notched four blocks.

In IWU's five-set thriller against 11th-ranked ONU, the Titans built up a 9-3 lead in aces. The Polar Bears held the upper hand in kills (71-65), blocks (11-6), assists (66-61), and digs (102-96). The back-and-forth affair saw IWU finish with a .183 attacking percentage compared to ONU's .236. 

McAuliffe, sophomore Maddie Dryfhout (Orland Park, Ill.-Chicago Christian), junior Grace Sanders (Bloomington, Ill.-Bloomington), and Harrington each tallied double-digit kills. McAuliffe led the way with 15 on a .414 clip, followed by Dryfhout with 14. Sanders notched 11, and Harrington recorded 10. Dryfhout and Sanders completed double-doubles with 12 and 18 digs, respectively. 

Also joining the double-double effort was senior Madi Corey (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) and Porada. Corey recorded a team-high 29 assists, 13 digs, and four aces, while Porada went for 20 assists and 14 digs. Sophomore Faith Washko (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart-Griffin) noticed 11 digs, while Juarez led the way with 19. 

Illinois Wesleyan continues play in the Holiday Inn Express Classic I tomorrow, Sept. 11, with matches against Earlham College and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. IWU takes on EC at 10 a.m., followed by a 2 p.m. bout with RHIT.