Sophia Feeney setting against Greenville Sept. 6, 2025

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Women's Volleyball Closes Out Texas Trip with Two Sweeps

Feeney notches 1000th career assist

9/6/2025 6:44:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

GEORGETOWN, Texas - The 16th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team closed out its Texas trip in sweeping fashion, as the Titans defeated University of Puget Sound and Southwestern University Saturday, Sept. 6. Moving to 6-0 on the season, it marks the best start in program history. IWU started the day off by defeating Puget Sound (2-4) behind set scores of 26-24, 29-27, 25-19, and finished its trip with the three-set win over SU (4-2) (25-14, 25-16, 25-14).

Senior Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) was named the SU Invitational Most Valuable Player. Senior Hannah Tellor (Metamora, Ill.-Metamora Township) and sophomore Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) joined French on the all-tournament team.

No. 16 Illinois Wesleyan 3, Puget Sound 0
Illinois Wesleyan opened day two of its Texas trip with a sweep of UPS, led by comebacks in the first two sets in the defensive battle. The Titans notched 45 kills on a .179 showing, while limiting the Loggers to 29 kills on a .082 clip. The Green and White also won the statistical battle in blocks (7-4), assists (42-27), and digs (61-53), while Puget Sound finished with the upper hand in aces, 9-4.

French led the match with 17 kills on a .268. Tellor finished with nine kills on a .444 clip, followed by freshman Carly Whitaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton) with six kills.

Continuing to split setting duties, sophomore Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) and freshman Lauren O'Brien (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) each tallied 18 assists in the win. Feeney recorded all four aces for the Green and White, tying her career-high. The match also saw the junior eclipse the 1000 career assist mark, doing so on a French kill in the second set.

On the defensive end, sophomore Alysa Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) led the team with 18 digs. Sophomore Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) followed with 14, and French was close behind with 13. Tellor led the net defense with four blocks, coming by way of one solo and four assisted rejections. Whitaker and Palmer each added three.

Three straight points for the Loggers caused IWU Head Coach Kim Nelson-Brown to use her first timeout of the contest with the Titans looking at a 23-22 deficit. The break proved to be vital for the Titans, as O'Brien found Palmer for a kill to follow, knotting the score at 23 apiece. A Puget Sound kill queued set point for the Loggers, but the Titans were not backing down. After an IWU point leveled the score, Feeney checked back in and served up an ace to give the Green and White its first set point of the day. The junior found Tellor on the ensuing play for a kill, giving IWU the first set, 26-24.

The second set featured an early run for Illinois Wesleyan, starting off with a French kill. French sandwiched opposing attack errors with another kill, this time coming off a set from Bardouniotis. Tellor downed a dish from O'Brien, putting IWU ahead 11-7, initiating a Logger's timeout. Puget Sound's timeout did the team well, as it responded with a run of its own to tie the score back up at 11.

French ended a long rally with a kill, doing so off a Feeney set. The assist gave Feeney her 1000th career assist, and the Titans a 13-12 edge, but the teams continued to trade points for a long stretch.

Staring down set point, junior Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) came up clutch with a kill to even the score at 24-24. After Puget Sound pushed set point again with a kill, O'Brien found French for a kill, and a UPS attack error gave the Green and White a chance to close out the set in its favor. Once again, the Loggers had a response, registering a kill and an ace to push momentum back in their favor. The Titans remained calm under pressure, as O'Brien fed Tellor for a kill to level it at 27 all. French and Tellor rejected a Puget Sound attack on the following point to steal momentum, and a French kill snagged the set for the Titans, 29-27.

Remaining close for the first half of the third set, Tellor sparked a five-point run for the Titans with a kill, tying the score at 14. After two straight attack errors, Feeney made it a three-point lead with an ace, forcing Puget Sound to burn a timeout. French pushed it to four points with a kill out of the timeout, doing so off a Feeney assist. Once again, UPS found its way back in, quickly leveling the set at 18 apiece.

Illinois Wesleyan stole momentum back in its favor, beginning with another French kill. Tellor and Whitaker combined for a block to follow, and French made it 21-18 with a kill before the Loggers could get a sideout after using their last timeout. The Green and White kept it short, as Feeney found Whitaker, Palmer, and Bardouniotis for three straight kills, setting up match point. IWU closed out the win with a block, coming at the hands of Palmer and Whitaker, to secure the sweep, 25-19.

No. 16 Illinois Wesleyan 3, Southwestern 0
The Titans quickly took care of the host team, Southwestern, with a sweep (25-14, 25-15, 25-14).l to finish the trip. IWU's offense was led by French and Bardouniotis with 10 kills apiece, both hitting north of .200. Palmer finished with six kills.

Feeney posted a team-high 16 assists, followed by 15 from O'Brien. O'Brien commanded the service line, as she notched a trio of aces to lead the team.

Lawton accrued a team-best 19 digs, while Bardouniotis finished with a double-double performance after notching 11. Palmer led the IWU net defense, finishing with three blocks. Shannon and Tellor each chipped in two.

IWU's offense accumulated 28 kills on a .260 clip, while Southwestern was held to 25 kills on a .087 showing. The Titans also posted the advantage in assists (33-24), digs (53-43), blocks (6-3), and aces (6-1).

In the first, a Southwestern attack was thwarted by a bad set, and French used the opportunity to unleash an ace. Bardouniotis closed out the run with a kill, making it 16-9 and putting IWU in cruise control.

O'Brien found Palmer for a kill to push set point, but the Pirates fought it off with a kill of their own. The fight did not last long, as Palmer ended the first set with a kill on a ball sent over early, securing it favor of the Green and White 25-14.

Down 5-0 early into the second set, IWU used a timeout to settle down. The timeout proved key, as it forced an SU service error. French used the time at the service line to get the Green and White going, as she registered a backrow kill, and two Pirates miscues made it a one point game again.

All tied at 14, Bardouniotis gave IWU a 15-14 lead with a kill, and Palmer and Bardouniotis rejected an attack two points later. Bardouniotis buried two straight kills to make it 19-14 in favor of the visitors. The Titans closed out the second set on a 6-1 run, taking it 25-16.

Up 12-10 in the third set, French made it a three point game by burying a dish from Feeney. Feeney found Tellor two points later for a kill to make it 15-10. The Pirates escaped the French service run with an error, but IWU capitalized on another mistake for the home team, as Bardouniotis fit in a kill in between two SU miscues, causing the Pirates to call timeout down 18-11.

Illinois Wesleyan's offense kept its pace, as O'Brien set up Palmer for a kill to set up match point. French ended the weekend for the Titans with a kill quickly after, locking in the sweep with a set score of 25-14.

The Titans return from Texas Sunday night, but will remain on the road, as they head to DePauw University for their next contest Wednesday night, Sept. 10. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

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