BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - With the start of the season on the horizon, the Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team will kick off its 2024 campaign at the Wittenberg Fall Classic in Springfield, Ohio, Friday-Saturday, Aug. 30-31. The two day tournament, hosted by Wittenberg University, will see the Titans face Mount St. Joseph University Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. ET, before taking on Otterbein University and Baldwin-Wallace University Saturday, Aug. 31 at 12:30 p.m. ET and 3 p.m. ET, respectively.

IWU, which received votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association, returns 13 letterwinners from its 2023 squad that posted an overall record of 17-13. Highlighting the returners are junior Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) and fifth-year Jordan Pierce (Bonfield, Ill.-Herscher), who earned All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin honors last season. French, a First Team All-CCIW honoree, was also named the conference's Offensive Player of the Year and selected to the AVCA All-American Second Team in her sophomore campaign that saw her finish with 570 kills, 425 digs, and 48 aces. Pierce picked up Second Team All-CCIW honors after leading the Green and White with 556 assists, as well as adding 165 digs, 73 kills, and 26 aces. Illinois Wesleyan also returns its leader in blocks from last season, sophomore Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep), who totaled 72 blocks in her freshman campaign. 

The Titans will see a total of six new faces donning the Green and White. Freshmen Alysa Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep), Izzie Niepagen (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic), Hailey Rak (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Township), Vanessa Stasieluk (Northbrook, Ill.-Glenbrook North), Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North), and Larisa Link (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) will make their collegiate debuts, while junior transfers Hannah Tellor (Metamora, Ill.-Metamora Township) and Kannyn Boyd (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.-Mt. Pleasant) will play their first match for the Titans. 

Illinois Wesleyan will face Mount St. Joseph for the fourth straight season and the eighth time in program history. The Lions hold a 5-2 advantage in the series that dates back to 2001 over the Titans, and were the winner of the last matchup Sept. 8, 2023. French led IWU with seven kills and recorded 14 digs, while then-freshman Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) totaled a team-high 14 assists. 

The Titans look to even their series record against Otterbein, which holds a slim 2-1 lead. The two will take the court against each other for the first time since Sept. 7, 2019, in which the Cardinals got the upper hand in three sets. 

With the series dating back to the 1994 campaign, IWU brings a 3-1 advantage over Baldwin-Wallace to the court to close out the opening weekend. The Titans are the winner of the last two matchups, including the most recent meeting Oct. 10, 2008. 

Information regarding the tournament, including streaming and live stats, can be found on Wittenberg's tournament central page, which is accessible by clicking here, or on the women's volleyball schedule page on iwusports.com.