Press Conference: Erdman, Feeney, Boyd, Kim Nelson-Brown

MARIETTA, Ohio – The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team battled through a tight match to sweep ninth-ranked Marietta College in straight sets Friday night, Nov. 22, to advance to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Tournament. The Titans won by set scores of 30-28, 25-22, and 25-23 to boost their record to 24-9. The Pioneers were handed just their second loss of the year as Marietta's season came to a close at 24-2.

Five Titans posted seven-or-more kills in the match, led by junior Taylor French's (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) match-leading 17 kills. Junior Hannah Tellor (Metamora, Ill.-Metamora Township), freshman Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North), and fifth-year Jordan Pierce (Bonfield, Ill.-Herscher) each tallied eight kills, while sophomore Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) notched seven. The middle-hitting duo of Tellor and Palmer combined to post a stat line of 15 kills with two errors on 36 attempts, good for a .361 clip.

As a team, Illinois Wesleyan hit .204 with 53 kills, while Marietta was credited with 39 kills on a .206 clip. The Titans held a 14-dig advantage, 72-58, behind the play of junior Kannyn Boyd (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.-Mt. Pleasant), sophomore Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community), and senior Abby Erdman (Aurora, Ill.-Metea Valley). Boyd accrued a match-high 19 digs, while Feeney and Erdman each posted double-doubles with 20 assists. Feeney went for 10 digs, while Erdman notched 11.

The Green and White also held an 8-5 lead in aces, with French and Bardouniotis registering three apiece. The Pioneers grabbed a 7-6 edge in blocks.

An incredibly tight first set featured nine ties and six set-points, needing extra points to determine a winner. Illinois Wesleyan scored the first three points on the back of Bardouniotis, who notched the match's first kill and then an ace before French tooled a block for a 3-0 IWU lead.

The Pioneers powered back, grabbing an 11-7 lead to force a Titan timeout. The Green and White rallied back within two, but back-to-back MC points brought about another timeout from head coach Kim Nelson-Brown with IWU trailing, 19-16.

Palmer came out of the reset and notched a timely kill to get Illinois Wesleyan back on track. Three kills from Bardouniotis moments later drew IWU within one, 22-21, before Tellor hammered a kill to the middle of the floor and served up an ace to knot the score, 23-23.

The Titans staved off the Pioneers multiple times down the stretch. A dump set by Erdman caught Marietta on its heels to tie the score at 28. On the next rally, Feeney dug a hammer of a swing by the Pioneers which Bardouniotis promptly slammed down for a kill. Leading 29-28, Bardouniotis and Tellor teamed up for a set-winning block, 30-28.

Bardouniotis finished with a team-best six kills in the opening set, hitting .444, while Pierce and French added five kills apiece. 

Illinois Wesleyan clawed its way back from down four as key points by Palmer and Pierce tied the set, 18-18. A Marietta error and a clutch kill from Pierce propelled IWU ahead, 20-18. Tellor and Pierce added a rejection to stretch the lead to three, and despite a late Pioneer push, Bardouniotis' ace and a rare Boyd kill gave IWU the set, 25-22.

The Titans pursuit of a sweep was far from easy, as the Green and White trailed by as many as six in the third set. Illinois Wesleyan called a timeout trailing, 20-18, ahead of a Bardouniotis smash down the line. A pair of kills by Tellor and another by French left the set even, 22-22, before Tellor hammered down an over-pass to force a Marietta timeout with IWU up, 23-22. 

The Pioneers managed to get a sideout, but French's 17th kill of the day moved the score to match-point, 24-23. Marietta called its final timeout of the night, but it could not do anything to slow the Titans as Tellor registered an ace to complete the sweep, 25-23.

Illinois Wesleyan will compete in the Sweet Sixteen tomorrow, Nov. 23, for the second time in program history. The Titans will face off against University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh with a trip to Salem, Va. on the line. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET in Ban Johnson Arena on the campus of Marietta.