BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The 19th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team fought off Earlham College in five sets inside the Shirk Center on the opening night of the season Friday night, Aug. 29. Illinois Wesleyan (1-0) won the first, third, and fifth sets to down the Quakers (25-20, 23-25, 25-18, 22-25, 15-11).

The Titan attack hit .185 on the night, notching a clip of .200-or-better in each of IWU's three winning sets as the home team cranked out 70 kills. Senior Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) and sophomore Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) powered the Green and White with stat-stuffing efforts. French racked up a team-high 28 kills on a .294 attacking percentage, both match-highs, with 17 digs. The 28 kills are the most in a five-set match in program history, and rank tied for seventh all-time. Bardouniotis was just behind with 18 kills alongside a .238 clip. She completed a double-double with 14 digs and tied for the team lead with three rejections.

Freshman Lauren O'Brien (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) and junior Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) ran the offense, splitting setting duties. O'Brien churned out 28 assists in her collegiate debut, collecting a double-double with 13 digs. Feeney added a 25-assist, 15-dig effort, while also chipping in two aces.

Defensively, senior Kannyn Boyd (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.-Mt. Pleasant) finished one dig short of her career-high, as she collected a team-high 32 digs in the contest. The senior joined the 1000 career digs club early in the contest, as she came in needing just six digs to reach the mark. With five Titans notching double-digit digs, Illinois Wesleyan held a 104-102 edge in the statistical category.

IWU also compiled leads in kills (70-55), aces (12-7), and assists (61-49). Earlham held the upperhand in blocks, 7-5. Senior Hannah Tellor (Metamora, Ill.-Metamora Township) and French shared the team-high with three aces each, while Bardouniotis and junior Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) paced the squad with three blocks apiece.

The Titans saw French tool the block to get the season going, giving IWU the first point of the contest. After Earlham forced the quick sideout, Illinois Wesleyan rattled off five straight points. Bardouniotis and Tellor teamed up for a block to kick off the run, and an Earlham attack error followed. Feeney fed Bardouniotis for a kill to continue the streak, and Palmer and Bardouniotis rejected a Quakers attack to put the Titans ahead, 5-1. 

After Earlham halted the run, Illinois Wesleyan found its groove again quickly. O'Brien checked in for her collegiate debut and quickly sparked the offense, as she found Bardouniotis and Palmer for back-to-back kills. The short run gave the Green and White an 8-2 cushion, forcing Earlham to call an early timeout. 

Illinois Wesleyan continued to roll through the opening set, using four straight points to jump ahead, 20-9. Feeney fed Bardouniotis for a kill, and an EC miscue ensued. Palmer registered a kill of her own to follow, and O'Brien closed the run out with her first career ace. 

Earlham made a late push to claw back within three, 23-20, but IWU regained control to shut the door on the comeback. An EC attack error cued set point, and Shannon downed a ball sent over prematurely, giving IWU the first set, 25-20.

The Titans responded in the third set after dropping the second, 25-23. IWU got on the board with an over kill from French, and Tellor tipped one over the block and right on the line to put the Green and White ahead 2-1.

After controlling the first half of the set, Earlham found its way back in, bringing the score within two, 14-12. Whitaker got the Green and White a much needed sideout, as she tooled a block for her first collegiate kill. Bardouniotis followed with back-to-back kills to give the home team a five point cushion. 

Once again, the Quakers found their way back into the set, but this time French smashed a cross-court liner off the set from O'Brien for a kill, sending Boyd to the service line. The senior came up clutch, as she registered two straight aces to force Earlham to call timeout, as the Titans took a 21-15 advantage. 

Illinois Wesleyan held steady the rest of the set, as French followed an attack error with an ace to snag the third set, 25-18.

The Titans could not close out the fourth set, dropping it 25-22, but quickly responded in the fifth. In her collegiate debut, freshman Audrey Chizzo (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park and River Forest) notched her first career kill to get the Green and White on the board first, sparking a 4-0 opening run. Bardouniotis dropped an ace in to follow, and O'Brien found Palmer for a kill on the next point. A bad set by Earlham put IWU ahead by four before the Quakers could force a sideout. Tellor executed a tool kill via a set from O'Brien, and Feeney checked in on the rotation. The junior setter quickly found Bardouniotis and French for back-to-back kills, causing Earlham to burn a timeout trailing as the teams switched sides with IWU ahead, 8-3.

EC once again found its way back into the set, chipping away at the Green and White's lead to bring it within two, 12-10, this time forcing the Titans to call a timeout. Earlham closed the gap to one out of the break, but Illinois Wesleyan found the needed momentum to close out the contest. O'Brien dished a set to Bardouniotis for a kill, and an EC miscue brought up match point. After the Quakers used their last timeout to try and ice the home team, the Titans went to their hot hand for the win, as French notched her 28th kill of the match to secure the victory, 15-11. 

Illinois Wesleyan closes its opening weekend at home with two contests tomorrow, Aug. 30. The Titans will take on Greenville University at 10 a.m. before facing No. 20 University of Chicago at 12:30 p.m. All information regarding the tournament, featuring links to the live stats and live streams of each match, can be found here.