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Lauren O'Brien setting against Rose-Hulman Sept. 20, 2025
Kodiak Creative
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 17-2,5-0 CCIW
2
Cornell College CC 12-8,4-0 Midwest
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
17-2,5-0 CCIW
3
Final
2
Cornell College CC
12-8,4-0 Midwest
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 22 24 25 15 (3)
Cornell College CC 13 25 26 22 13 (2)
0
Wis.-Stevens Point UWSP 13-11,2-2 WIAC
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 18-2,5-0 CCIW
Wis.-Stevens Point UWSP
13-11,2-2 WIAC
0
Final
3
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
18-2,5-0 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Wis.-Stevens Point UWSP 22 19 22 (0)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Women’s Volleyball Wins Two to Close out Weekend

French and Tellor tabbed on all-tournament team

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. - Responding after its loss last night, the sixth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team closed out the Blugolds Alumni Weekend Invitational with two wins Saturday, Oct. 18. The Titans (18-2) opened the day with a five-set win over Cornell College before downing University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in straight sets. 

The weekend saw seniors Hannah Tellor (Metamora, Ill.-Metamora Township) and Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) earn all-tournament team honors after leading the Green and White to a 2-1 showing. 

No. 6 Illinois Wesleyan 3, Cornell 2
With less than 12 hours to turn around after a five-set loss to No. 7 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, the Titans gutted out a five-set win over Cornell (12-8), winning with set scores of 25-13, 22-25, 24-26, 25-22, 15-13. 

Illinois Wesleyan's offense hit .221 in the match, and came up clutch in the fifth with 12 kills and just one attack error on a .407 clip as a team, while holding the Rams to a .157 showing on the day. The Green and White held edges in kills (71-52), digs (97-86), assists (67-47), while each team finished with 11 aces, and CC had the advantage in blocks, 11-5.

French led the IWU offense with 23 kills on a .263 clip. Tellor dazzled in the match, as she posted 15 kills on a .419 clip, committing just two attack errors on 31 swings. Sophomore Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) rounded out the double-digit kills performers with 13. 

From the service line, Bardouniotis and senior Kannyn Boyd (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.-Mt. Pleasant) led the team with three aces apiece, while freshman Lauren O'Brien (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) added a pair. Junior Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) and O'Brien continued to split setting duties, as the duo finished with 28 and 27, respectively. 

On the defensive end, French led the Titans with 22 digs, as she completed a 20-20 double-double performance for the fifth time in her storied career. Sophomore Alysa Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) was second in digs with 17, followed by a career-best 15 from O'Brien. Tellor totaled a team-best five blocks, followed by three from French, and a pair from freshman Carly Whitaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton).

Illinois Wesleyan took control of the set early, as Bardouniotis opened the contest with a kill, and O'Brien followed with an ace. After a sideout, IWU tacked on two more via another Bardouniotis kill and a Cornell attack error. Following a Rams kill, the Titans benefited from two mistakes, and Tellor downed a dish from O'Brien to make it 7-2 early, timeout Cornell. The timeout did little to stop the Titans, who added three more out of the break, beginning with a Tellor kill, as she caught the defense off guard after a diving dig from French kept the rally alive. A Boyd ace ensued, and French and Tellor combined for a block to make it 10-2. 

Cornell fought back to close the gap to as little as three points, but IWU used a late push to seal the opening set. A French kill kickstarted a 10-2 run, and another French-Tellor block sent the Rams burning their final timeout down 17-12. Two CC miscues sandwiched a Tellor kill after the break before the Rams could get the ball out of the hands of Boyd with a sideout. O'Brien quickly found Tellor for a kill, and the French-Tellor duo once again rejected an opposing attack, making it 22-13. After an attack error, Feeney aced the Rams to set up set point, and a miscue closed the opening set in favor of the Green and White, 25-13. 

Dropping the next two sets 25-22 and 26-24, IWU responded in the fourth to stay alive. Trailing 6-1 to open the set, head coach Kim Nelson-Brown called what would go on to be a crucial timeout. Out of the break, French fired in a kill, and Shannon followed an attack error with a kill of her own before finding French on the next point to make it a one point game. After a Rams sideout, O'Brien found Shannon, then Lawton found French for back-to-back kills to even it at seven points apiece. The Green and White took its first lead of the set via a Rams miscue, forcing the opposing team to call a timeout. 

Cornell charged ahead 17-15 behind six straight points, but IWU resettled, beginning with a kill from French, who followed up with another after a Rams attack error to put the Titans back in front, 18-17. A CC kill knotted it up at 18 points apiece, but Tellor stayed hot, as she buried a pass from O'Brien, and followed with a block alongside Whitaker to make it 20-18. Bardouniotis downed a dish from Feeney to push set point, and French completed the comeback with a kill, forcing a fifth set behind a set score of 25-22.

The fifth set saw back-and-forth action from start to finish, as the score remained within two points the entire way. Cornell jumped ahead 10-8, its largest lead of the set, but the Titans regrouped, beginning with a kill from Palmer. An attack error evened the set at 10, and the Rams went back out in front with a kill. Once again the Green and White benefited off miscues, as two straight made it 12-11 in favor of the Titans. Following a kill to equalize the score at 12, Feeney found French and Tellor for back-to-back slams to cue match point. After a service error kept the match alive, French quickly righted her mistake with a kill, as Illinois Wesleyan escaped the upset with a 15-13 victory.

No. 6 Illinois Wesleyan 3, UW-Stevens Point 0
Illinois Wesleyan kept its second match of the day short, as the Titans swept UW-Stevens Point (13-11) behind set scores of 25-22, 25-19, 25-22. 

French led the IWU offense with 19 kills for the second straight match on a .295 showing, followed by eight kills from junior Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep), and six from Bardouniotis and junior Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park). Feeney and Bardouniotis registered three aces apiece, while O'Brien tacked on two more to her weekend total. The usual setting duo saw O'Brien tally the team-high this time with 24 assists, while Feeney finished with 17. 

Defensively, Boyd recorded a match-leading 23 digs, followed by 19 from Bardouniotis. With 10 digs in the contest, French notched her second double-double performance of the day. IWU's two blocks came at the hands of French and Palmer, each recording a solo stuff.

All tied at 10 in the opening set, the Titans took the next three points to gain some ground on the Pointers. O'Brien found Shannon for a kill to start the small run, then French buried balls on the next two rallies to make it 13-10, causing UWSP to call timeout.

The Pointers quickly erased the lead, and took a 15-14 lead of their own, but a costly service error gave the Green and White momentum. Feeney fed French for a kill to follow, and after an attack error, Feeney floated a serve in for an ace to make it 18-15 as UW-Stevens Point used its final timeout of the set. Feeney stayed in control from the line, as she dropped in another ace after the break to bring the cushion to four. The Pointers found their way back into the set, but service errors closed out the opener in favor of the Titans, 25-22.

Ahead by one early in the second set, Illinois Wesleyan put together an 8-1 run to gain control. The run featured kills from Shannon, French, Palmer, Bardouniotis, a Palmer solo stuff, as well as an ace from Bardouniotis, and an UWSP miscue, as the opposing team burned both of its timeouts trailing 15-7.

The Green and White coasted the rest of the way in the set, as Feeney found French for back-to-back kills to lock it in at 25-19.

Falling behind in the third set, the Titans capitalized on a 7-2 run to swing momentum back on their side. Bardouniotis followed a service error with two straight kills, and O'Brien dropped an ace in. After back-to-back points for the Pointers, an error put the ball in the hands of Bardouniotis, who immediately aced UWSP. Following a bad set, UW-Stevens Point called a timeout, as the Green and White went ahead 14-11.

Cut back to a one point game, Bardouniotis followed an attack error with another ace to make it 22-19. The Pointers responded with a kill, but Palmer put the Titans ahead three, as she downed a dish from O'Brien. Once again bringing it back within one, two straight French kills completed the sweep, as the Titans took the final set 25-22.

Illinois Wesleyan remains on the road, as it heads to WashU for another ranked matchup Tuesday night. Action is set to begin at 7 p.m.
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