ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - A kill by sophomore Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) finished off a five-set victory for the Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team at Augustana College Wednesday night, Oct. 23, as the Titans claimed at least a share of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Regular Season Championship. It marks the sixth CCIW title in program history, as well as the first since 2021. Additionally, the win clinched the Titans the No. 1 seed and hosting rights for next month's conference tournament.

With the win, IWU upped its record to 16-6 overall and an unblemished 7-0 in CCIW play. Augie dropped to 8-16 on the season, 1-4 in the conference.

Double-double performances by senior Abby Erdman (Aurora, Ill.-Metea Valley) and fifth-year Jordan Pierce (Bonfield, Ill.-Herscher) led the Titans in the win. Erdman finished with 22 assists and 13 digs, while Pierce added a team-high 24 assists and 12 digs. The setting duo dished out a balanced attack that saw five Titans record seven-or-more kills. Junior Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) paced the offense with 22 kills, while Shannon, junior Hannah Tellor (Metamora, Ill.-Metamora), and freshman Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) added eight kills apiece. Senior Morgan Harrington (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield East) tacked on seven kills.

Joining Erdman and Pierce with double-digit digs were junior Kannyn Boyd (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.-Mt. Pleasant) and Bardouniotis, who tied for the team lead with 16. Sophomore Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul Prep) tallied a team-high four blocks, with Harrington registering three and Tellor notching two.

Illinois Wesleyan scored the first three points of the night, but Augustana roared back as the Vikings climbed ahead, 12-8. Harrington tooled a block to get the Green and White back on track, before teaming up with Palmer for a stuff to trim the Augie lead to one, 12-11. A kill by French evened the match at 13-all and a Tellor-Harrington rejection maintained the tie.

After Feeney served up an ace, the sophomore set Shannon for a kill to force an Augie timeout with IWU clinging to a 16-14 advantage.

Augustana won the point out of the reset, but the Titans used kills by Tellor and Bardouniotis as well as a French ace to force another Viking timeout with Illinois Wesleyan's lead standing at four, 20-16.

This time, the pause proved timely for the home team as Augie rattled off four straight points to knot the score at 20 and force an IWU timeout. The Titans could not hold off the Vikings, as Augie took the opening set, 25-22.

Illinois Wesleyan came back with vengeance in the second set as a rare Erdman kill doubled up the Vikings, 10-5. Back-to-back kills by Bardouniotis and French upped the advantage to six as Augie burned a timeout with IWU leading, 14-8. 

Three straight points by the Green and White, two of which came on kills from French, brought about another Augie timeout. Illinois Wesleyan finished off the set, 25-12, as the Titans hit a whopping .400 while holding the Vikings to .000 hitting for the set. 

A four-point IWU run that included a kill from Shannon and consecutive aces from Erdman gave the Titans a 9-4 edge in the early part of set three. Illinois Wesleyan used three straight miscues by Augie to charge ahead, 16-9, forcing an Augie timeout.

Tellor slammed a ball through the block to keep the Titans rolling out of the regrouping session. A tough dig by Bardouniotis led to a French kill as the lead approached double-digits. Shannon delivered a kill off a set by Palmer before back-to-back aces by Tellor drove the Green and White lead to 23-10. 

Illinois Wesleyan used kills by Pierce and French to secure the set, 25-12, and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Augustana forced a fifth set as the Vikings took the fourth, 25-16, to even the match at two sets apiece. The fifth saw IWU get out to a hot start as a kill from French pushed the Green and White ahead, 4-1, but Augie stormed back with a 4-1 run to knot the score at 5-5.

A timely kill from freshman Izzie Niepagen (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) proved to be the start of a three-point Titan run as Erdman followed with a kill before Harrington and Tellor notched a block. The Vikings pulled back within two, 9-7, on an IWU miscue, but Illinois Wesleyan closed the set on a 6-2 run. Pierce set Tellor and Shannon for back-to-back kills to give IWU a four-point edge, 12-8, before Shannon slammed the door shut with a match-clinching kill. Winning the set 15-9, Illinois Wesleyan escaped with a five-set triumph.

The Titans return to the friendly confines of the Shirk Center this Saturday, Oct. 26, as host of Illinois Wesleyan Classic. The tournament will begin Friday, Oct. 25, with Millikin facing off against Simpson and Albion, before IWU tangles with the Storm and Britons at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively, Saturday, Oct. 26.