Sophia Feeney waiting before a point Sept. 7, 2024

Women’s Volleyball Hosts No. 8 Millikin

Titans look to secure second top-15 win of the week

10/3/2024 3:02:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - After downing No. 15 North Park University in straight sets Wednesday night, Oct. 2, the Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team will host eighth-ranked Millikin University for a crucial College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin match Friday night, Oct. 4. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Shirk Center. After an energetic crowd Wednesday night, IWU looks to see a sea of green for a green out match to kick off homecoming weekend.

The Titans (10-5, 3-0 CCIW) were dominant in the sweep of NPU, as the team had 44 kills on a .288 attack percentage, while limiting the Vikings to 23 kills on a .045 clip. Juniors Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) and Hannah Tellor (Metamora, Ill.-Metamora Township) were electric for Illinois Wesleyan in the win. French finished with 14 kills on a .324 attack percentage, while adding 11 digs to complete the double-double performance. Tellor posted seven kills on a flawless .538 clip, finishing with no attack errors on 13 swings, while leading the defense with five blocks. Freshman Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) added nine kills, a team-high three aces, and 13 digs, and junior Kannyn Boyd (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.-Mt. Pleasant) notched a match-high 20 digs.

French leads the offense with 224 kills, which ranks 30th among Division III, while her 4.15 kills per set average ranks 21st. Her 237 points on the season and 4.94 points per set average come in at 23rd and 14th across the country, respectively. Tellor sits 14th in Division III with a .384 attack percentage on the season. Tellor's 128 kills rank second on the team, followed by Bardouniotis with 108. French and Bardouniotis are the Titans' top two at the service line, with French having 34 aces on the year, and Bardouniotis second with 25. Sophomore Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) sits third with 16.

With 242 assists on the year, Feeney leads the Green and White, while senior Abby Erdman (Aurora, Ill.-Metea Valley) follows with 185. Fifth-year Jordan Pierce (Bonfield, Ill.-Herscher) is third on the team with 119 assists. As a unit, the trio of setters have helped orchestrate the top-hitting team in the CCIW, as the Titans are hitting .318 in conference play with a conference-best 14.22 kills per set average.

Illinois Wesleyan also has shown one of the best defensive performances in CCIW action, as the Titans have held their opponents to a .090 attack percentage in league play, and have minimized the attacks to 8.16 kills per set. Leading the defense, Boyd has accumulated 192 digs for the season, averaging 4.68 per set. French is second on the team with 166, and enters Friday with 978 career digs. Freshman Alysa Lawton's (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) 99 digs are good for third on the squad.

With a rich history and strong rivalry, IWU and Millikin (18-2, 3-0 CCIW) will meet for the 58th time dating back to 1994. The Big Blue hold a slim 30-27 advantage in the series, and are the winners of the last two meetings, including the most recent in five sets Oct. 6, 2023. French posted 19 kills and three aces in the loss, while sophomore Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) added seven kills. Pierce notched a double-double performance with 29 assists and 15 digs. MU makes the short trip after defeating Elmhurst University in straight sets Wednesday night, Oct. 2.

A live stream of the match, with men's volleyball players Vince DiCosola and Hayden Warfield on the air, can be found by clicking here, and live stats can be accessed here.

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