STEVENS POINT, Wis. - The Illinois Wesleyan University closed out the weekend with a five-set win over the University of Wisconsin-Stout Saturday, Oct. 22, as the Titans (14-10) completed play at the CCIW-WIAC Crossover hosted by UW-Stevens Point. After winning the first two sets 25-13 and 26-24, IWU dropped the third and fourth sets before outlasting Stout (11-15), 15-13, in the decisive fifth set.
Illinois Wesleyan saw a dominant defensive effort at the net, as the Green and White racked up 15 blocks on the day to five by UWS. Senior Dana Kiszkowski (Schaumburg, Ill.-Schaumburg) and junior
Taylor Babec (Joliet, Ill.-Plainfield Central) tallied seven blocks apiece, while senior
Evy Makris (Orland Park, Ill.-Chicago Christian) added six rejections. The strong defense also came through for a season-high 109 digs, led by a 30-dig effort from junior
Faith Washko (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart-Griffin). Freshman
Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) added a career-high 27 digs, while junior
Courtney Heffren (Eureka, Ill.-Eureka) notched 17.
French finished off the double-double with a team-best 18 kills and added four aces, while Kiszkowski's stat-stuffing day saw 15 kills and six digs to go with her career high in blocks.
Sophomore Abby Erdman (Aurora, Ill.-Metea Valley) distributed 35 assists, while collecting 12 digs for a double-double. Freshman
Katie Gund (Pewaukee, Wis.-Pewaukee) added 15 assists.
Illinois Wesleyan and UW-Stout traded points at the start of the first set before the Blue Devils jumped ahead, 11-9. The Titans turned it around from there, rattling off the game's next nine points to stake an 18-11 advantage. Back-to-back kills by Kiszkowski and a UWS error gave IWU the opening set in dominant fashion, 25-13.
The rest of the match was much more even as a Kiszkowski-Babec block tied the second set at 24 all. Another block, this time by Babec and junior Lily Summers (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield North) pushed the game to set point, and another Blue Devil miscue gave IWU the 2-0 upperhand, 26-24.
The two teams played to another 24-24 tie in the third, but it was an IWU error and a Stout ace that sent the match to the fourth. There, the Blue Devils fought back from a 23-19 deficit to push for the fifth set, 26-24.
With UW-Stout leading, 12-10, in the fifth, Washko set French for a kill to get the Green and White back on track. French followed with back-to-back aces, pushing IWU ahead, 13-12, before kills by Heffren and Kiszkowski closed out the set, 15-13, and the match, 3-2, in favor of the Titans.
Illinois Wesleyan returns its attention to College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play Tuesday, Oct. 25, for a 7 p.m. first serve against Wheaton College.
