Eleanor Palmer up for a block against Millikin Oct. 4, 2024

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Women’s Volleyball Set for CCIW Clash with Cardinals

Titans take on North Central Wednesday, Oct. 16

10/15/2024 9:41:00 AM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - After enjoying some non-conference action, the Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team will return to College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play, traveling to North Central College for a clash with the Cardinals (15-5, 3-1 CCIW) Wednesday night, Oct. 16. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Gregory Arena.

The Titans (14-5, 5-0 CCIW) are riding a seven-game win streak, and look to continue their unblemished play in the month of October. Holding sole possession of first place in the conference standings, Illinois Wesleyan enters Wednesday after adding two non-conference wins to its record Friday, Oct. 10. The Green and White defeated Wartburg College in five sets before sweeping University of Wisconsin-River Falls to conclude another perfect week. The Wartburg match saw junior Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) notch her 1000th career dig, becoming just the eighth player in program history to achieve the milestone for both kills and digs. She totaled 32 kills in the eight sets of action at the Elmhurst Invitational, along with 21 digs and four aces. Fellow juniors Kannyn Boyd (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.-Mt. Pleasant) and Hannah Tellor (Metamora, Ill.-Metamora Township) also put up stellar performances, finishing with 38 digs and nine blocks, respectively.

With 290 kills and an average of 4.20 kills per set, French leads the Green and White offense, while both numbers rank 19th across Division III. Tellor is second on the squad with 148 kills, averaging 2.14 per set. Her .371 attack percentage is the 23rd highest across the country and leads the CCIW. Freshman Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) rounds out the top three hitters with 137 kills, averaging 2.17 per set. French and Bardouniotis are first and second on the team in aces with 42 and 32, respectively. Sophomore Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) is third with 19.

Leading the Titans in assists, Feeney has 317 to her name for the season, averaging 5.11 per set. Senior Abby Erdman (Aurora, Ill.-Metea Valley) is second with 258, holding an average of 4.23 per set.

On the defensive side, Boyd leads IWU with 270 digs, an average of 4.82 per set. French's 207 digs rank second on the squad, averaging three per set. Bardouniotis is third with 116 digs in her freshman campaign. Sophomore Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) has a team-high 53 total blocks, and Tellor's 49 blocks rank second, while senior Morgan Harrington (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield East) is third with 26.

Illinois Wesleyan and North Central will meet for the 39th time, with IWU holding a 24-14 advantage in the series that dates back to 1994. The most recent matchup saw the Green and White walk away with the victory in four sets Oct. 3, 2023. French led the match with 26 kills and added 16 digs. Harrington added 12 kills, while Palmer posted four blocks. The Cardinals most recently defeated Kalamazoo College in straight sets Friday, Oct. 11.

NCC will be providing a live stream of the match, which can be found here, while live stats can be accessed by clicking here.

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