LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team squared off against two more nationally ranked opponents Saturday, Sept. 2, as the Titans closed out play at the Transy Fall Invite. IWU suffered a heartbreaking five-set loss (25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 15-25, 15-10) at the hands of 11th-ranked Berry College, while the Green and White were bested by No. 8 Transylvania University in straight sets (25-22, 25-16, 25-18). The day saw senior
Faith Washko (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart-Griffin) become the latest Titan to accumulate 1,000 career digs as she finished the day with 35.
No. 11 Berry 3, Illinois Wesleyan 2
The Titans could not overcome the hot hitting of the Vikings in the first two sets, but quickly turned the tables on Berry in the third.
IWU cranked out 16 kills, with just one error, to hit a whopping .441 for the set. A BC miscue broke a 17-17 tie before sophomore Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) upped the lead to two, 19-17. The Vikings would pull back within one, but a Berry service error and an ace from Washko were followed by a French kill to push IWU ahead, 23-20. French capped the set with a kill, her seventh of the set, off an assist from senior
Taylor Babec (Joliet, Ill.-Plainfield Central) to give the Titans the set, 25-22.
The Green and White's momentum carried into the fourth, where Illinois Wesleyan turned in a dominant effort. IWU scored the first three points of the set and never looked back, evening the match at two with a 25-15 victory.
The fifth set was a back and forth affair, with the two sides playing to a 7-7 tie before Berry found some momentum. The Vikings rattled off three straight points to stake a 10-7 edge, a deficit the Titans ultimately could not overcome as Berry took the set, 15-10.
French put together a monster game, finishing one off a career-high with 24 kills on a .340 attacking percentage. She also added nine digs and a pair of aces. Junior Carly Kuehl (St. Louis, Mo.-Parkway West) tallied 11 kills on a .375 clip, while IWU's middles combined for 14 kills on a .344 attacking percentage. Babec tallied eight kills, three blocks, and three digs, while freshman
Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) notched six kills on 10 attempts with a pair of blocks.
Freshman Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) put together a strong showing with a 27-assists, 12-kill double-double. Junior
Abby Erdman (Aurora, Ill.-Metea Valley) added 20 assists and 12 digs.
Washko tallied a team-high 16 digs and a career-best eight aces, while also dishing out eight assists. Her eight aces rank tied for fourth-most in program history. Freshman Olivia deGuzman (Wauwatosa, Wis.-Divine Savior Holy Angels) registered a dozen digs and a pair of aces.
In all, IWU held advantages in kills (64-60), aces (13-7), assists (58-57), and digs (72-66). Berry held a 7-5 edge in blocks and hit .288 to IWU's .229 clip.
No. 8 Transylvania 3, Illinois Wesleyan 0
Miscues kept the Titans from finding their stride in their final match of the weekend, as the Pioneers took the first two sets.
IWU held the upperhand early in the third, but Transy erased a three-point Illinois Wesleyan lead to tie the match at 14 all. The Pioneers welcomed a 10-3 run to hold off the Titans, 25-18, and complete the straight set sweep.
French paced the Titans with 14 kills and added 14 digs. Babec registered seven kills on a .313 clip, while Washko led the team with 19 digs. The senior libero added a team-high three aces, which came back-to-back-to-back in the opening set.
Transylvania compiled leads in kills (45-34), hitting percentage (.303 to .140), and assists (43-33). The Green and White led in aces (4-3), blocks (3-1), and digs (62-59).
Illinois Wesleyan is back in action next weekend, Sept. 8-9, for the first of three IWU Tournaments. The Titans take on Mount St. Joseph Friday, Sept. 8, at 7 p.m., before squaring off against Concordia University-Wisconsin and No. 16 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Saturday, Sept. 9.
