BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team continues its stretch of away games with a trip to Elmhurst University Wednesday, Oct. 19. The Titans (12-8, 2-3 CCIW) are scheduled to battle the Bluejays (5-12, 2-4 CCIW) in a key College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin match at 7 p.m. inside R.A. Faganel Hall. 

Illinois Wesleyan enters off a loss to North Park Oct. 15, dropping the match in four sets with scores of 25-15, 14-25, 25-20, and 25-21. Freshman Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) continued her impressive season, as she posted 15 kills and a career-best six aces on a .394 clip. Meanwhile, Elmhurst comes in off a four-set victory over Augustana College Oct. 11 (25-22, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20). 

Wednesday's match will mark the 50th meeting between Illinois Wesleyan and Elmhurst, with the series dating back to 1994. Elmhurst holds a 28-21 all-time advantage, but the Titans have dominated the series recently, having won the last eight matchups. The most recent victory came Sept. 15, 2021, when the Titans defeated the Bluejays in four sets with scores of 25-21, 25-20, 19-25, 26-24. Then-junior Evy Makris (Orland Park, Ill.-Sandburg) notched nine kills and three blocks with a .300 hitting percentage in the win. 

The Titans will face the dual threat of Elmhurst's Keely Larson and Katelyn Bower, who lead the CCIW in hitting percentage and blocks, respectively. Larson enters with a .310 hitting percentage, having recorded 105 kills and 33 errors on 232 attacks. Bower has averaged 0.90 blocks per set with 46 blocks in 51 sets played. 

IWU is led by French on offense, as she has notched 268 kills for an average of 3.62 per set, good for second-best in the CCIW. The Romeoville, Ill. native leads the league in service aces with an average of 0.66 aces per set. Sophomore Abby Erdman (Aurora, Ill.-Metea Valley) has orchestrated most of the Titan offense with a team-best 421 assists. 

Junior Faith Washko (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart-Griffin) leads the Green and White defensively with 427 digs for a CCIW-best 5.55 digs per set average. Junior Taylor Babec (Joliet, Ill.-Plainfield Central) leads the team in blocks with 64, 17 solo and 47 assisted. Her average of 0.83 blocks per set is good for eighth-best in the conference. Babec is followed by Makris, who has recorded 45 blocks (11 solo, 34 assists) for a 0.79 blocks per set average. 

Elmhurst will provide a live stream of the game, which can be accessed here, and live stats can be found here.