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Kannyn Boyd digs ball against Loras Sept. 7, 2024
© AshtinElder
0
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 4-3,0-0 CCIW
3
Winner Wis.-Whitewater UWW 8-0,0-0 WIAC
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
4-3,0-0 CCIW
0
Final
3
Wis.-Whitewater UWW
8-0,0-0 WIAC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 24 24 14 (0)
Wis.-Whitewater UWW 26 26 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Women’s Volleyball Fights Hard but Falls to No. 4 UW-Whitewater

Titans turn attention to two-day trip to Iowa

WHITEWATER, Wis. - Facing a top-five nationally ranked team, the Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team fought hard but ran out of steam, falling to fourth-ranked University of Wisconsin Whitewater on the road in straight sets, 26-24, 26-24, 25-14. With the loss, the Titans dip to 4-3 overall, while UWW remains unbeaten, moving to 8-0. 

Illinois Wesleyan held the upperhand in kills (35-24), digs (40-39), and aces (9-6), while each team had six blocks and 32 assists, but it was a costly 29-15 margin in attack errors that proved to be the difference for the Green and White in the contest. 

Offensively, junior Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) posted a match-high 16 kills in the contest to lead IWU. Fellow junior Hannah Tellor (Metamora, Ill.-Metamora Township) followed with seven kills on a .313 attack percentage, while freshman Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) chipped in four kills. Sophomore Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) paced the Titan offense with team-highs of 22 assists and four aces, the latter setting a new career-best. 

Coming off a week that saw her earn College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Defensive Player of the Week honors, junior Kannyn Boyd (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.-Mt. Pleasant) led the Green and White with 12 digs amid another impressive defensive showing. French and senior Abby Erdman (Aurora, Ill.-Plainfield East) tied for second on the squad with seven apiece. At the net, sophomore Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) led IWU with four total blocks. Fellow sophomore Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) followed with three, while Tellor and senior Morgan Harrington (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield) each posted two rejections. 

Falling behind 4-0 to open the first set, Bardouniotis punched one down the line to get the Titans on the board. IWU used the kill to swing the momentum, as French followed a Warhawks miscue with back-to-back kills to even the match. With the set remaining close, the Green and White saw its first lead of the contest after Feeney recorded two straight aces to give the visitors an 11-9 advantage. 

A few points later saw incredible digs from Boyd to save the point, and Bardouniotis tooled a pair of defenders to edge IWU ahead, 12-11. After UW-Whitewater got the sideout, Shannon put the Titans back out in front, as she tipped one in just over a blocker that landed in the near corner to make the score 13-12. Continuing to trade points, Erdman caught the Warhawks defense off guard, dumping one in to even the score at 16 apiece, and Harrington followed with a kill to push Illinois Wesleyan in front, 17-16.

Trailing 22-19, freshman Izzie Niepagen (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) checked into the game and buried a dish from Feeney to bring the set back within two. Tellor and Shannon doubled up for a block to follow, and a UWW miscue knotted the set at 22 all. Facing set point, French extended the set, but the home team escaped, 26-24.

Tellor opened the second set with a kill, smashing one into the center of the court, but similar to the first set, the second stayed close the whole way through. A French tool-kill was followed by a Shannon and Palmer block giving the Titans a slim, 4-3, advantage early on. UW-Whitewater responded to string together a few points and jump out in front, 12-8, forcing head coach Kim Nelson-Brown to call timeout. 

The timeout proved to work for the Green and White, as Bardouniotis tooled a pair of blockers, followed by another Shannon and Tellor rejection, and French lined one down the Warhawks sideline to close the gap, 12-11. 

Once again facing a four-point deficit, an attack error for UW-Whitewater kickstarted a Green and White run, as French sandwiched a kill in between two Feeney aces to bring the score to 21-20, causing the Warhawks to call a timeout. Out of the reset, UWW took the next four points, pushing to set point, but the Titans clawed back into it. Tellor buried a dish from Feeney, who then fed French after a Warhawks miscue to bring it back within one, 24-23. Niepagen followed with an ace to tie the set, making UW-Whitewater use its last timeout. Illinois Wesleyan's luck in the set ran out, as the Titans dropped the second, 26-24. 

The third set was all UW-Whitewater, as the Warhawks closed the match with a final set score of 25-14 to complete the sweep.

Illinois Wesleyan travels to Iowa for the weekend, playing three matches in two days. The Titans will start the trip at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, taking on Coe and Edgewood at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively, Friday, Sept. 13. IWU will conclude the trip at No. 21 Cornell College, facing the Rams in Mount Vernon, Iowa, Saturday, Sept. 14, with a 12 p.m. start. Information regarding all three matches can be found on the IWU women's volleyball schedule page on iwusports.com. 
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