SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team dropped its final two matches of the Wittenberg Fall Classic Saturday, Aug. 31, as the Titans (1-2) were swept by Otterbein University and fell in five sets to Baldwin-Wallace University. Junior Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) eclipsed the 1000th career kill mark in IWU's bout with Baldwin-Wallace. She is the 17th player in program history to rack up 1000+ kills in a Titan career.

IWU dropped by set scores of 25-16, 27-25, and 25-21, against OU. The five-set setback came with set scores of 25-22, 13-25, 28-26, 19-25, and 15-13. 

Otterbein 3, Illinois Wesleyan 0
Illinois Wesleyan jumped out to an early lead in the first set, but Otterbein clawed back to tie the score at eight all. The Cardinals used a run to take control from there, as the Titans dropped the set, 25-16.

The second set was tight from start to finish. Sophomore Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) gave IWU a two-point edge, 23-21, with a solo rejection, but Otterbein battled back to take a 24-22 lead. Facing set point, fifth-year Jordan Pierce (Bonfield, Ill.-Herscher) set junior Hannah Tellor (Metamora, Ill.-Metamora Township) for a kill and sophomore Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) followed with assists on kills by French and freshman Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) to turn the tables and put IWU ahead, 25-24. An Otterbein timeout proved key as the Cardinals rattled off a three-point run to take a two-set lead, 27-25.

The Green and White never led in the final set, as a late push came up short, 25-21, and the Titans fell in straight sets.

French led the Titans with 12 kills in the match, while Bardouniotis finished with nine and senior Morgan Harrington (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield East) added four. Pierce posted a team-high 18 assists, followed by Feeney and senior Abby Erdman (Aurora, Ill.-Metea Valley) with seven and six, respectively.

On the defensive end, junior Kannyn Boyd (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.-Mt. Pleasant) recorded a team-best 13 digs. French finished with seven to follow, and Pierce added five for the Green and White. A trio of Titans recorded two blocks in the contest. Harrington and Tellor each notched two assisted blocks, while Palmer posted one solo rejection alongside one assisted stuff.

Baldwin-Wallace 3, Illinois Wesleyan 2
After stumbling, 25-22, IWU came back strong in the second set. A Baldwin-Wallace timeout with Illinois Wesleyan up, 11-6, was followed by a four-point Titan run. A kill by French on Feeney's assist stretched the lead to nine, 22-13. The Green and White scored the next three points with Pierce setting French for the set-winning slam.

The third set was much closer as it went into extra points. After trailing in the early goings, head coach Kim Nelson-Brown called a timeout to get the Titans back on track. IWU took a late lead in the set by way of recording four straight points. Following a service error, French rattled off back-to-back kills to eclipse the 1000 career kills mark. An attack error by the Yellow Jackets saw the Titans take a 24-22 lead, but Baldwin-Wallace strung together three straight to keep the set alive. A hammer of a kill by Tellor held off BW on set point, but the Yellow Jackets ended up taking the set, 28-26. 

Illinois Wesleyan controlled much of the fourth set, but saw Baldwin Wallace mount a comeback late. Out of an IWU timeout, French and Tellor came through with two kills apiece to expand the Titan lead to five, 24-19. French finished off the set with an ace to push the match to a fifth set.

The Titans and Yellowjackets played to a 9-9 tie in the deciding set, before Baldwin Wallace pulled away, 14-11. The Green and White stalled the rally with a back row kill from French and a BW error made it a one-point game, 14-13. A lengthy rally ultimately saw the ball drop on IWU's side, giving Baldwin Wallace the five-set victory.

Offensively, IWU saw French finish with a team-high 21 kills amid her milestone night, followed by freshman Izzie Niepagen (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) with 11. Tellor added 10 kills on an impressive .381 attack percentage. Pierce amassed 42 assists to orchestrate the majority of the Titan offense. French and Feeney each had strong showings at the service line, finishing with four and three aces, respectively. 

On the defensive end, Boyd posted a team-high 22 digs, while French added 20 to collect her first double-double performance of the season. Pierce added 14 digs, finishing just shy of her career-high, to also post her first double-double of the young season. Feeney added 11 digs to round out the Titans' double-digit dig performances. Pierce also had a strong showing at the net, as she finished tied for the team-high in blocks with three. Making her collegiate debut, freshman Hailey Rak (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Township) shared the team-high, as she net three blocks in her first contest for the Green and White. 

Illinois Wesleyan now turns its attention to its first of three home tournaments. The two-day event is scheduled for Friday-Saturday, Sept. 6-7, and will see IWU battle DePauw University, Loras College, and Webster University inside the Shirk Center.