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Hannah Tellor serving against Coe Sept. 20, 2025
ASHTIN ELDER PHOTO
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 19-2,5-0 CCIW
0
WashU WU 16-5,3-2 UAA
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
19-2,5-0 CCIW
3
Final
0
WashU WU
16-5,3-2 UAA
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 26 25 25 (3)
WashU WU 24 13 10 (0)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Women’s Volleyball Sweeps Through WashU

Titans rack up 13 aces

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The sixth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team came away with a statement win at No. 13 Washington University in St. Louis Tuesday night, Oct. 21, dispatching the Bears dominantly in straight sets. The Titans (19-2) outlasted the Bears (16-5) 26-24 in the opening set before running away with the next two sets by scores of 25-13 and 25-10.

Illinois Wesleyan overpowered WashU in nearly every statistical category. The Green and White notched a 42-28 lead in kills, a 13-2 advantage in aces, and a 44-40 edge in digs. IWU also led in assists, 39-27, while the home team finished with five blocks to the visitors two. Despite WashU's lead in blocks, the Titans hit .286 to the Bears' .146 clip.

Efficient showings from junior Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) and freshman Carly Whitaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton) powered the balanced Green and White attack. Palmer scored seven kills on a .600 clip, while Whitaker was credited with six kills on 10 swings. The outside hitting duo of senior Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) and sophomore Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) posted a pair of double-doubles. French went for 10 kills and 10 digs, while pacing the team with seven aces. Bardouniotis also recorded 10 kills alongside a team-high 11 digs. 

Junior Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) dished out 19 assists to top the team. Freshman Lauren O'Brien (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) added 16 helpers. 

All tied at seven in the opening set, Palmer broke the stalemate with a kill to spark a four-point run into a WashU timeout. The Bears battled back to a 16-15 advantage, but a kill from Bardouniotis and a dump set by Feeney put the Titans back on top, 17-16.

WashU scored the next three points, but Bardouniotis dialed up an ace to force the Bears' final timeout with IWU clinging to a 21-20 edge. Whitaker slammed down a kill out of the pause, her fourth of the night, to provide Illinois Wesleyan with a two-point cushion. A pair of kills from French gave the visitors set point, but the Bears had one more push left. A momentum-shifting block by WashU was followed with a kill to level the score at 24 all. The spurt by the Bears was met with the wrath of kills by IWU's standout outside hitters as Bardouniotis and French buried kills for a 26-24 set victory.

Junior Cailin Shannon's (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) kill broke a tie early in the second set and put the Green and White back on track. After gaining a lead via WashU errors, Illinois Wesleyan displayed its many weapons as Shannon, French, and Whitaker notched kills to drive the Titans ahead, 10-7.

Out of a timeout, French rolled an ace off the tape to keep the Bears at bay. Tellor and Whitaker followed with a stuff at the net and Bardouniotis and Palmer joined the block party with a rejection of their own. The stout defensive plays saw WashU call another timeout, this time with IWU on top, 14-8. 

A 7-1 run jolted Illinois Wesleyan ahead, 19-9. The Green and White never looked back as French aced the Bears to take the second set, 25-13.

French slammed a ball down for a kill to put the Titans ahead and send Tellor back to the service line. More commonly revered for her play at the net, Tellor led an eight-point run. The senior registered four aces alongside kills from Palmer and Whitaker to catapult IWU ahead, 11-2. 

Illinois Wesleyan never looked back, carrying a double-digit lead for much of the set. Back-to-back kills by Bardouniotis spread the sweep, 25-10.

The Green and White returns its focus to College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play as IWU rounds out a five-match roadtrip with a stop in Decatur, Ill. Friday, Oct. 24. There, the Titans will take on Millikin University in a 7 p.m. first serve.
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