BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team rolled past sixth-ranked Washington University in St. Louis Friday night, Sept. 23, inside the Shirk Center. The Titans (9-2) bested the Bears (14-1) in four sets by scores of 25-16, 19-25, 25-16, and 25-13 in dominant fashion to hand WashU its first loss of the season.
Illinois Wesleyan jumped out to an early edge in the opening set, but the sixth-ranked Bears battled back to stake an 8-7 lead. Lily Summers (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield North) got the Titans back on track with a kill to end a gritty rally in favor of the Green and White to level the score at eight. The kill proved to be a turning point for IWU, as freshman
Taylor French's (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) kill coupled with WashU miscues pushed the home team ahead 11-8, forcing the Bears to take a timeout.
Out of the break, WashU trimmed the IWU advantage to one. Key kills by junior Taylor Babec (Joliet, Ill.-Plainfield Central) and senior
Dana Kiszkowski (Schaumburg, Ill.-Schaumburg) pushed Illinois Wesleyan's lead back to two and warranted a roar from the crowd along with a fist pump from head coach
Kim Nelson-Brown. Aces by junior
Courtney Heffren (Eureka, Ill.-Eureka) opened up a 23-16 edge for the home team before sophomore
Morgan Harrington (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield East) finished off the set, 25-16. The Green and White hit a blistering .382 in the set while the Bears hit .125 as a team.
After WashU evened the match at one set all, the Titans came back with vengeance in the third. Illinois Wesleyan hit a whopping .467 in the set, with Babec and Harrington erupting in the set. The duo combined for a monstrous block to give IWU a 9-4 lead and bring about a WashU timeout.
The reset did little to slow the Titans as the Green and White saw Harrington, Kiszkowski, Babec, and French hammer kills to run away with the set, 25-16.
Aces were wild for Illinois Wesleyan in the fourth set, as the Green and White recorded seven of its 14 service aces in the frame. Feeding off the set three victory, the Titans ran out to a 9-0 lead as Summers notched a kill down the line.
From there, aces from Faith Washko (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart-Griffin),
Jordan Pierce (Bonfield, Ill.-Herscher), Heffren, Babec, and French put Illinois Wesleyan on the verge of the upset, 24-11. A WashU service error sealed the set, 25-13, and the match 3-1 for IWU.
Illinois Wesleyan hit a hefty .344 as a team, including over .400 in each of the final two sets. The Titans compiled a 56-39 edge in kills, a 14-7 lead in aces, a 52-38 assist advantage, and a 60-52 upperhand in digs.
Sophomore Abby Erdman (Aurora, Ill.-Metea Valley) and Pierce orchestrated a well-balanced attack for the Green and White that saw five players finish with eight-or-more kills. Erdman dished out 25 assists, with Pierce tallying a career-best 19.
French topped the Titans with 16 kills on a hefty .438 hitting percentage, while also registering a team-best five aces. Kiszkowski and Babec tallied nine kills apiece, with Babec owning a .571 attacking percentage for the match. Harrington and senior Evy Makris (Orland Park, Ill.-Sandburg) finished the night with eight and seven kills, respectively.
Defensively, Washko was credited with 22 digs to go along with six assists. Babec added two solo blocks and an assisted rejection.
The Titans are right back at it tomorrow, Sept. 24, for their final two games of the tournament. IWU begins the day with a 10:30 a.m. match against Heidelberg University before taking on 15th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater at 1:30 p.m.
