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Lauren O'Brien and team celebrating an ace against Greenville Aug. 30, 2025
ASHTIN ELDER PHOTO
0
Texas Lutheran TLU 2-4,0-0 SCAC
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 4-0,0-0 CCIW
Texas Lutheran TLU
2-4,0-0 SCAC
0
Final
3
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
4-0,0-0 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Texas Lutheran TLU 15 15 19 (0)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Aces Aplenty in Women’s Volleyball Sweep of Texas Lutheran

Titans tie program record for most aces in a three-set match with 18

GEORGETOWN, Texas - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team made quick work of Texas Lutheran University, as the Titans swept the Bulldogs behind set scores of 25-15, 25-15, and 25-19 Friday, Sept. 5. With the win, IWU improves to 4-0 on the young season, while TLU drops to 2-4. The match saw the Green and White post 18 service aces, which ties for the most in a three-set match, and tied for second-most in any match in program history. 

An efficiently spread out offense, senior Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) led the Titans with nine kills. Senior Hannah Tellor (Metamora, Ill.-Metamora Township) followed with eight, doing so on a whopping .571 attack percentage. Junior Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) and sophomore Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) each notched seven kills, both hitting above .200. 

Splitting setting duties, junior Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) and freshman Lauren O'Brien (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) finished with 16 and 14 assists, respectively. The two guided a hot-hitting Titan offense that finished with a .301 attack percentage. Feeney inches closer to the 1000 career assist mark, now just needing eight helpers. 

Leading the charge at the service line, O'Brien totaled a team-high seven aces. The mark ties for fifth-most in a three-set match and ranks within the top-10 in program history. French followed with five, and Bardouniotis tallied three. Feeney and Tellor each added to the mark with two and one, respectively. 

Defensively, senior Kannyn Boyd (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.-Mt. Pleasant) led Illinois Wesleyan with a match-high 13 digs. Bardouniotis closely followed with 12, and French added nine. Tellor finished with a team-high two blocks, while Bardouniotis and freshman Carly Whitaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton) each added one. 

All tied at eight early in the opening set, O'Brien fed Tellor for a kill to give the Green and White the lead, kicking off a 5-1 run. Feeney found French and Bardouniotis for back-to-back kills, and a Bulldogs ballhandling error followed before TLU could get a sideout. IWU quickly fell back into rhythm as Shannon downed a dish from Feeney, and an opposing attack error made it 14-9, forcing Texas Lutheran to burn a timeout.

Out of the break, French laced an ace to make it a six point contest to keep Illinois Wesleyan in command. Bardouniotis set up set point with a kill, making it 24-15, and Feeney followed with an ace to close out the first set in favor of Illinois Wesleyan.

After the first point in the second set went in favor of Texas Lutheran, IWU notched the next six in its favor. Beginning with an attack error, French posted three aces in four points with a kill of her own in between. Boyd found Shannon for a kill to put IWU ahead 6-1. But the Bulldogs fought back and quickly erased the advantage to tie it up at eight points apiece.

With a one point lead, IWU used a four-point run to build a cushion. French downed sets from O'Brien and Feeney for back-to-back kills. Boyd found Tellor for a kill, and a Feeney ace finished the stretch, making it a 15-10 lead. 

Ahead 17-14, the Titans took the next seven points, beginning with a Bulldogs attack error. O'Brien sent a set to junior Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) for a kill on the ensuing point, sending O'Brien back to the service line. O'Brien sandwiched a TLU timeout with three straight aces to make it 22-14. French recorded another ace, and a Bulldogs miscue cued up set point.

Bardouniotis locked the second set in favor of Illinois Wesleyan with a kill, matching the first set with a score of 25-15. 

With the third set knotted up at 13, Illinois Wesleyan took control, beginning with Palmer downing a set from Feeney. O'Brien tacked on an ace to continue her strong day at the line, but Texas Lutheran responded with a kill to bring it back within one.

Bardouniotis got the Green and White a sideout with a kill, and then notched two straight aces to make it 18-14. Continuing to remain close, a French kill sparked another IWU run. Tellor followed with a kill of her own, and then the senior combined with Whitaker for a block. A French kill put Illinois Wesleyan within two points of a win, and a Bulldogs bad set pushed match point. After TLU rattled off two kills, the Titans secured the sweep with another miscue, taking the third and final set 25-19.

Illinois Wesleyan returns to action for two matches tomorrow, Sept. 6. The Titans will face University of Puget Sound at 12 p.m. before taking on Southwestern University at 3:30 p.m. to conclude the trip. Links to the live stream and live stats can be found on the women's volleyball schedule page in iwusports.com.
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