Ashtin Elder

Women’s Volleyball to Face Two Ranked Opponents in St. Louis

Titans face No. 2 UW-Oshkosh and No. 12 WashU

10/12/2023 4:00:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team will make the trek to St. Louis, Mo. for the Washington University in St. Louis Tournament Saturday, Oct. 12. The Titans (7-10) will face No. 2 University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh at 12:30 p.m. before facing host and 12th-ranked WashU at 2:30 p.m.

Illinois Wesleyan enters the tournament off a five-set loss to 18th-ranked North Park University Wednesday night, Oct. 11. Sophomore Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) exploded for a 21-kill, 21-dig double-double performance, finishing with an attack percentage of .315. Senior Jordan Pierce (Bonfield, Ill.-Hercher) orchestrated the majority of the offense, accumulating 40 assists while adding seven kills. Freshman Olivia deGuzman (Wauwatosa, Wis.-Divine Savior Holy Angels) recorded four service aces, while sophomore Raegan Watts (Forsyth, Ill.-Maroa Forsyth) led the team with a career-high 22 digs.

The Titan offense has been led by French all season, as she continues to rank among the top-15 nationally in kills (294), kills per set (4.34), points (332.5), and points per set (4.89). Senior Lily Summers (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield North) ranks second on the team in kills, having totaled 95, while junior Carly Kuehl (St. Louis, Mo.-Parkway West) closely trails with 94. Freshman Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) leads the Green and White in assists, having accumulated 270. Junior Abby Erdman's (Aurora, Ill.-Metea Valley) 170 sits her in second, while Pierce rounds out the top three with 143.

Defensively, senior Faith Washko (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart-Griffin) leads the squad with 322 digs, averaging 5.11 per set. French follows with 226, while Feeney's 147 are the third-most for the Titans. Making her net presence known, freshman Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) has posted a team-high 44 total blocks, 11 of which have been solo stuffs. Senior Taylor Babec (Joliet, Ill.-Plainfield Central) sits in second with 34 total rejections, while freshman Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) rounds out the top three with 18 blocks.

UW-Oshkosh (22-0) enters Saturday off a 3-1 victory over University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Wednesday, Oct. 11. It will be the 22nd matchup between the two Titan squads, with UWO holding a commanding 17-4 advantage in the series, dating back to 1994. The most recent meeting came back on Oct. 26, 2019, with IWU falling in five sets.

WashU (14-5) most recently defeated Carnegie Mellon in four sets Sunday, Oct. 8. With a series going back to 1998, the Bears hold a 13-5 advantage. The Titans took the last matchup, as they handed the then-sixth-ranked WashU squad its first loss of the season, doing so in four sets. French led the match with 16 kills and five aces on a .438 clip, as the Titans offense finished the match hitting .344 as a whole.

Both matches will be live streamed, which can be found here, and live stats can be accessed by clicking here.

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