BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - After clinching at least a share of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Regular Season Championship, and hosting rights for the CCIW Tournament, the Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team returns home to host the IWU Classic Friday-Saturday, Oct. 25-26. The Titans (16-6) welcome Albion College, Millikin University, and Simpson College to the Shirk Center for the weekend. 

Illinois Wesleyan enters the contest off a five-set victory over Augustana College Wednesday night, Oct. 23. Junior Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) led the offense with 22 kills, while the trio of junior Hannah Tellor (Metamora, Ill.-Metamora Township), sophomore Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park), and freshman Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) added eight kills apiece. Bardouniotis finished with a career-high 16 digs, tying for the team-high with junior Kannyn Boyd (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.-Mt. Pleasant). 

French paces the Titan offense with 345 kills, the 13th most in Division III, while her average of 4.16 kills per set ranks 20th. The Romeoville, Ill., also sits sixth nationally in points (414.5), 10th in points per set (4.99), and 11th in aces (57). Tellor is second on the team with 178 kills, while her .352 attack percentage leads the CCIW and is 34th across the country. Bardouniotis rounds out the top three hitters with 160 kills in her freshman campaign. She is second on the team in aces with 34, followed by sophomore Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) with 24. 

The Green and White has seen three setters orchestrate the majority of the Titan offense this season, led by Feeney with 368 assists, averaging 5.11 per set. Senior Abby Erdman (Aurora, Ill.-Metea Valley) is second with 285, while fifth-year Jordan Pierce (Bonfield, Ill.-Herscher) is third with 185. Pierce enters the weekend with 924 career assists, nearing the 1000 milestone mark. 

Defensively, Boyd leads the team in digs with 329, averaging 4.70 per set. French and Bardouniotis follow in second and third with 248 and 157 digs, respectively. Sophomore Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) has led the net defense all season, as she enters the weekend with 60 blocks, 13 coming on solo stuffs. Tellor closely follows with 55, and senior Morgan Harrington (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield East) is third with 34. 

 Millikin (24-3) will open the tournament Friday night, as the Big Blue will face Simpson (7-12) at 5 p.m. before taking on Albion (7-18) at 7 p.m. to conclude the first day of action. IWU and SC will begin the second day of competition, facing off at 10 a.m., and the Titans will conclude the tournament against the Britons at 2 p.m. Simpson and Albion will split the Green and White's matches for a neutral site match at 12 p.m. All four teams enter the tournament off a win Wednesday night, Oct. 23. Millikin defeated North Park University in straight sets, and Simpson also registered a sweep, as the Storm downed Buena Vista University. Albion notched a five-set victory over Trine University.


The Titans will meet the Storm on the court for just the eighth time, with the series beginning in 2003. Simpson holds a slight 4-3 advantage, but Illinois Wesleyan has been victorious in the last two meetings. Most recently, IWU swept Simpson Sept. 10, 2016, led by now-assistant coach Tyler Brown with 10 kills. 

The Green and White will take on Albion for the fourth time, and the first since 2011. With the series beginning in 2007, IWU has taken all three previous matches, including a sweep in the most recent contest Oct. 15, 2011.

A tournament central page can be found here, which includes links for all live streams and live stats for the weekend.