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Sophia Feeney setting
AJE Photography 2025
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 20-2,6-0 CCIW
0
Millikin MIL-U 11-11,4-2 CCIW
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
20-2,6-0 CCIW
3
Final
0
Millikin MIL-U
11-11,4-2 CCIW
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 26 25 25 (3)
Millikin MIL-U 24 19 18 (0)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Women’s Volleyball Sweeps Millikin in Final CCIW Road Contest

Titans lock up home court for CCIW Tournament

DECATUR, Ill. - The No. 6 Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team used a sweep at Millikin University to claim a share of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Regular Season Championship Friday night, Oct. 24. Behind set scores of  26-24, 25-19, 25-18, the Titans (20-2, 6-0 CCIW) lock up home court advantage for the CCIW Tournament. 

The victory gives the Green and White its 20th win on the year, the second straight year that IWU has reached the win mark. It also marks the 17th season that head coach Kim Nelson-Brown has led her squad to 20+ wins. The Titans bring home their second straight CCIW Regular Season Championship, the first time the program has won back-to-back titles. 

Illinois Wesleyan's offense produced 47 kills on a .277 attack percentage, while limiting MU (11-11, 4-2 CCIW) to 33 kills on a .184 showing. The Green and White also held a statistical edge in assists (39-29), while the Big Blue notched an edge in digs (48-47), and aces (5-3), while each team tallied four blocks. 

Senior Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) tied for the match-high in kills, finishing with 11. Sophomore Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) produced 10 kills on a .364 clip, while the middle hitter duo of junior Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) and senior Hannah Tellor (Metamora, Ill.-Metamora Township) had a day at the net, as each finished with eight kills and hit north of .400. 

Junior Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) tallied a match-best 22 assists, followed by 11 from freshman Lauren O'Brien (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic). French and Bardouniotis finished with double-double performances behind 12 and 10 digs, respectively. Palmer led the Titans with three blocks to guide the net defense. 

Back-and-forth action in the opening set led to a tie at 22 points apiece. A service error pushed the Green and White ahead, but the Big Blue responded with a kill. IWU saw set point off an attack error, and once again MU stayed alive, using another kill to even the score at 24. The Green and White got a break on a service error, and French finished the first set with a kill 26-24, as she buried a set from senior Kannyn Boyd (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.-Mt. Pleasant). 

Trailing 12-10 in the second set, French downed a dish from Feeney to get a crucial sideout and head to the service line. Using her dangerous serve to her advantage, the senior started a key six-point run for the visitors. After an attack error, Bardouniotis notched a kill off a Feeney assist, and a Millikin miscue ensued. Feeney found Tellor on the next rally for a kill, forcing the home team to call timeout down 15-12. Out of the break, French dropped an ace in before the Big Blue could get the ball out of her hands. 

The Titans remained in control the rest of the way, as Feeney caught MU sleeping with a dump set to cue set point. Palmer and freshman Carly Whitaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton) finished the set with a block on the next point, locking the score at 25-19. 

IWU jumped ahead early in the third set, beginning with a 5-1 run. After Millikin began the set with a kill, Bardouniotis and Tellor each tallied two kills in a spurt of five straight points for the Titans. The Big Blue fought back to even the set at seven points apiece, but Bardouniotis stayed hot, as she registered another kill to break the stalemate. French followed with two straight of her own, and another Millikin mistake made the home team call timeout down 12-7. The Titan offense remained in its groove, as Palmer bounced a bump from O'Brien for a kill, and Bardouniotis made it a seven-point cushion with an ace. 

MU recorded two straight to make it a five-point lead, but Tellor left no doubt for the Titans, as she downed a ball sent over early to make it 17-11. Feeney followed an attack error with an ace, bringing the score to 19-11, IWU's largest lead of the night, making MU use its final timeout of the night.

Bardouniotis slammed a ball sent over early to bring up match point, and Palmer finalized the sweep with her eighth kill of the contest, as the Titans took the third and final set 25-18. 

The Green and White return home for the rest of the regular season, as the Titans look to clinch the CCIW Regular Season Championship outright Wednesday night, Oct. 29. IWU will take on Carroll University at 7 p.m. inside Shirk Center.
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