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2023 Women's Volleyball Senior Day
1
Aurora AUR 19-10,12-1 NACC
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 16-12,5-3 CCIW
Aurora AUR
19-10,12-1 NACC
1
Final
3
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
16-12,5-3 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Aurora AUR 15 25 25 22 (1)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 27 21 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Women’s Volleyball Secures Senior Day Win Over Spartans

Titans win ninth straight match

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team soared past Aurora University in four sets on Senior Day Saturday afternoon, Nov. 4. The Titans (16-12), who celebrated seniors Lily Summers (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield North), Maddie Dryfhout (Orland Park, Ill.-Chicago Christian), Taylor Babec (Joliet, Ill.-Plainfield Central), Annika Altekruse (Naperville, Ill.-Metea Valley), Jordan Pierce (Bonfield, Ill.-Herscher), and Faith Washko (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart-Griffin) pregame, took down the Spartans (19-10) by set scores of 25-15, 27-25, 21-25, and 25-22.

The Titans used a strong attack to overpower the Spartans. IWU finished with 64 kills to AU's 51, while hitting .300 as a team. The Spartans finished with a .243 attacking percentage. The Green and White also tallied a lead in digs (69-55) and aces (8-7), while Aurora picked up a 9-7 edge in blocks. 

IWU's monster attack was a balanced one, as six players finished with six-or-more kills. Sophomore Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) matched her career-high with a match-best 27 kills on a .297 clip. Junior Morgan Harrington (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield East) tallied nine kills, while Summers and freshman Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) posted eight apiece. Pierce added six kills on a .313 hitting percentage, while also notching a career-high 46 assists. She completed a double-double with 11 digs and also added three blocks. Babec rounded out the attack with six kills on a hefty .444 clip, to go along with a team-best three rejections.

Freshman Olivia deGuzman (Wauwatosa, Wis.-Divine Savior Holy Angels) tallied a team-best 13 digs, while fellow freshman Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) was credited with 12 digs. Washko and French added nine apiece, with Summers registering seven.

Illinois Wesleyan raced out to a 4-0 lead in the opening set as French got things rolling with back-to-back kills. Pierce and Babec combined for a rejection before an Aurora error brought about a Spartans timeout. 

The Titans expanded the lead to 16-9, with a three-point run that saw kills by Summers and French along with a Washko ace. IWU pushed its lead to double digits, 22-12, after AU used its second timeout as Palmer and Altekruse came through with a block. Summers then ended the set, 25-15, with a kill to give IWU the 1-0 edge in the match.

The Spartans controlled most of the second set before the Titans staved off set point on French's kill from Pierce to level the score at 25. Aurora called a timeout after a miscue put IWU at set point, 26-25, but the regrouping session did little to slow the Green and White as Harrington's kill finished off the comeback, 27-25.

Up two sets to one in the fourth, Illinois Wesleyan rode an early lead to the win. The Green and White scored the set's first four points and never looked back. After a great save by Feeney kept a rally alive, a French kill gave IWU a 12-8 lead. Palmer extended the lead to 18-12 with a kill before Summers opened up a 22-16 advantage. With Illinois Wesleyan leading 23-17, Aurora rattled off three points in-a-row, but the Titans used a French kill and an Aurora service error to take the set 25-22, and the match, 3-1.

With the regular season complete, Illinois Wesleyan turns its attention to the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament. The Titans begin postseason play at home Tuesday, Nov. 7, for a quarterfinal bout with fifth-seeded Augustana College.
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