LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team began the 2023 season with a four-set loss to seventh-ranked Calvin University Friday, Sept. 1. After dropping the first set, the Titans battled back to take the second before falling in a tightly contested third to the Knights as CU topped IWU, 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 26-24, 25-19) on day one of the Transy Fall Invite.

Sophomore Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) paced the Titans with a team-best 15 kills. Junior Carly Kuehl (St. Louis, Mo.-Parkway West) put up a career-high 10 kills on a .375 clip, while adding six digs. Freshman Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) contributed 11 kills in her debut to round out the double-digit kill performances. 

Senior Faith Washko's (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart-Griffin) 15 digs topped the team, while junior Abby Erdman (Aurora, Ill.-Metea Valley) posted a 22-assist, 10-dig double-double. Erdman shared the setting duties with freshman Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community), who tallied 22 assists, six digs, and an ace. 

Bouncing back from the first set where the Titans hit .146, the Green and White went off for a .333 clip in the second set. IWU used 14 kills and five aces to even the match, 1-1. 

Calvin jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the third set, but Illinois Wesleyan did not quit. Kills by Shannon and junior Morgan Harrington (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield East) followed an IWU timeout and trimmed the CU lead to two, 14-12. The defense took it from there as freshman Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) combined with Harrington and Shannon on back-to-back blocks to even the score at 14 all.  

The Knights reclaimed the lead,19-16, behind a 5-1 run, before pushing ahead 23-20 late in the set. Senior Taylor Babec's (Joliet, Ill.-Plainfield Central) kill got the Green and White back on track, before Palmer's kill capped a four-point run to give IWU a 24-23 edge. However, Calvin rattled off three straight to take the set, 26-24.

The fourth set saw the Knights jump out to an early lead once again. Three straight aces from freshman Olivia deGuzman (Wauwatosa, Wis.-Divine Savior Holy Angels) pulled IWU within three, but Calvin held on for a 25-19 win to close out the match.

Illinois Wesleyan completes its opening weekend slate tomorrow, Sept. 2, with games against Berry College and Transylvania University. The Titans take on 11th-ranked Berry at 3 p.m. ET, before tangling with tournament host and No. 8 ranked Transy at 5:30 p.m. ET.