BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - On the final day of the Holiday Inn Classic I, the Illinois Wesleyan women's volleyball team dropped both of its matches. The team was defeated in its first match of the day against Earlham College in four sets (17-25, 25-18, 25-16, 25-21). IWU could not rebound in the final match of the day, falling to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in straight sets (25-23, 25-20, 25-18). After today's competition, the Green and White's record sits at 5-5. 

After a strong opening set against Earlham, IWU was upended by an EC comeback. Freshman Ava Porada (Frankfort, Ill. - Lincoln-Way East) recorded a career-high 28 assists in the contest. As a result, senior Courtney McAuliffe (Lemont, Ill. - Lemont) benefited from Porada's performance with 10 kills. Junior Evy Makris (Orland Park, Ill. - Sandburg) accumulated eight kills, while sophomore Maddie Dryfhout (Orland Park, Ill. - Chicago Christain) produced seven. The team outpaced the Quakers with a 49-46 kill advantage. 

The Illinois Wesleyan offense mustered  a .135 hitting percentage for the match. Meanwhile, the Quaker offense put together a .201 hitting percentage. Additionally, Earlham produced six aces, compared to IWU's four. 

Senior libero Amber Juarez (Bloomington, Ill. - Normal U High) lead the team with 17 digs. Dryfhout and senior Jessica McCall (Wayne, Ill. - Wheaton St. Francis) tabbed 12 and 10 digs, respectively. Overall, Earlham captured a 79-67 dig advantage.   

In the second match, freshman Cierra Gardner-Gist (Dolton, Ill. - Lincoln-Way East) recorded a team-high nine kills. Makris and freshman Morgan Harrington (Plainfield, Ill. - Plainfield East) produced five kills each. 

Porada had a double-double with 11 assists and 13 digs, while Juarez accumulated 10 digs for the Green and White defense. 

The Titans will hit the road for their College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin opener against Elmhurst College on Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m.