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Alex Bardouniotis hitting against Chicago Aug. 30, 2025
ASHTIN ELDER PHOTO
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 7-0,0-0 CCIW
0
DePauw DPU 4-4,0-0 NCAC
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
7-0,0-0 CCIW
3
Final
0
DePauw DPU
4-4,0-0 NCAC
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 25 25 (3)
DePauw DPU 21 16 22 (0)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Women’s Volleyball Downs DePauw for Sixth Straight Sweep

Titans improve to 7-0 on season

GREENCASTLE, Ind. - The 14th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team left DePauw University with its sixth straight sweep Wednesday night, Sept. 10. The Titans defeated the Tigers (4-4) 25-21, 25-16, and 25-22, to continue their best start in program history and move to 7-0 on the young season. 

Illinois Wesleyan's offense saw sophomore Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) lead the charge, finishing with 11 kills on a .233 attack percentage. Senior Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) closely followed with 10 kills, while junior Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) and freshman Carly Whitaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton) each tallied seven. 

Orchestrating an IWU offense that finished hitting .239, junior Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) finished with a match-high 19 assists, while freshman Lauren O'Brien (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) was right behind with 17 helpers. O'Brien and French continued to command the service line, as the duo each notched a pair of aces. 

Bardouniotis net another double-double performance, her third of the season, as she led the team with 14 digs. Sophomore Alysa Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) and O'Brien each finished with 11 digs to follow, as O'Brien also totaled a double-double. French and fellow senior Hannah Tellor (Metamora, Ill.-Metamora Township) posted three blocks apiece to lead the net defense, while junior Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) added two rejections to her stat line. 

As a team, IWU tallied 50 kills in the contest, hitting .200-or-above in all three sets, while limiting DePauw to 32 kills on a .167 clip. The Titans also held the upperhand in aces (7-2), blocks (6-4), assists (42-29), and digs (59-53). 

Trailing 16-15 in the opening set, Shannon notched back-to-back tool kills to spark the IWU offense. O'Brien found Palmer for a kill to make it a two-point lead, causing DePauw to use its first timeout of the contest. 

Following the reset, French blocked a Tigers attack, and Palmer downed a ball sent over early to push the visiting team ahead by four, 20-16. The Tigers quickly regrouped though,  bringing it within one, 21-20, and forcing IWU head coach Kim Nelson-Brown to utilize a timeout. 

After DePauw evened the score at 21 apiece, Tellor buried a set from O'Brien and French took advantage of a mishandled ball from the Tigers, as she downed it for a kill to put Illinois Wesleyan ahead late 23-21, prompting a DU timeout. Feeney aced the Tigers out of the break to bring up set point, and IWU took the opening set via an attack error, 25-21. 

All tied at four points early in the set, Illinois Wesleyan pulled away from DePauw thanks to a 6-1 run. Bardouniotis began the spurt with a kill, followed by two DU miscues, and a Shannon kill caused DePauw to call its first timeout down 8-4. The break in the action did little to stop the Titans, as O'Brien fired two straight aces to make it a six-point lead. Palmer finished the run with another kill, making it 11-4. 

The Tigers chipped back at the lead, bringing it within four, but three straight IWU points kept the visitors in control. Palmer started the run with a kill, followed by French ending a long rally with a tip kill, and a Bardouniotis ace made it 14-7, bringing up a DU timeout. 

Cruising through the second set, the freshmen connection of O'Brien to Audrey Chizzo (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park-River Forest) for a kill brought up set point, 24-15, and the two teams traded attack errors to close out the second set in favor of the Green and White, 25-16.

Down by as many as six points in the third set, Illinois Wesleyan's offense went to work, beginning with a Shannon kill. Palmer solo stuffed a DU attack to follow, and an attack error for the opposing team made it a one point game, 19-18. The Tigers upped their lead to three with two Titan miscues, but senior Kannyn Boyd (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.-Mt. Pleasant) found Shannon for a kill to get the Green and White back on track, and the Mt. Pleasant, Mich. native followed with an ace to make it a one-point difference. IWU evened the score at 21 via an attack error, forcing the Tigers to use their final timeout of the set. 

IWU's offense took control out of the stoppage of play, as Bardouniotis followed a DU attack error with a kill to make it 23-21 in favor of the Titans. French and Tellor teamed up for a block to queue match point, and an attack error completed the comeback, finalizing the third and final set at 25-22. 

Illinois Wesleyan will enjoy the weekend off, returning to the courts Wednesday night, Sept. 17. The Titans will begin College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play, as they travel to Wheaton College for a 7 p.m. inside King Arena. Links to the live stream and live stats can be found by clicking here.
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