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No. 1 Women’s Volleyball Hosts North Park for Midweek

Titans ranked No. 1 for first time in program history

10/13/2026 3:56:00 PM

AVCA Poll

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Playing its first match in program history as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, the Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team hosts North Park University Wednesday, Oct. 14 for a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin match. The Titans and Vikings are set for a 6 p.m. first serve inside the Shirk Center. The match will serve as the program's annual "Dig Pink Night" which raises awareness of breast cancer and those impacted by the disease.

The Green and White reached the top of the American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll, checking in at No. 1 with 1868 total points and 51 first-place votes for the first time in program history as the organization released its latest poll, Oct. 13. The ranking marks a program-high over the Green and White's previous best No. 2 spot. University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh sits in second with its 19-2 record which sets up a top-two matchup Saturday, Oct. 17 in Stevens Point, Wis. UWO racked up 1778 points, receiving 17 first-place nods. MIT took third with four first-place votes and 1679 points. UW-Eau Claire and Centre, which received three first-place nods, round out the top-five. Fellow CCIW institution, Carthage College, fell into the receiving votes category with 16 points.

The Titans' (16-1, 5-0 CCIW) nine-game win streak spans more than a month and includes a top-25 win and three consecutive sweeps. Two of the three set matches came on the road last week against Elmhurst and Augustana. Defense took center stage over the week as junior Alysa Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) was named CCIW Defensive Player of the Week finishing with 5.00 digs per set. She put together performances of 13 and 17 digs along with eight assists on the week. The junior sits 18th in the country and leads the conference in digs per set at 5.52. The defense held Elmhurst and Augie to a .039 hitting percentage and sit atop the CCIW in opponent hitting percentage at .137

Junior Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) anchors a balanced attack for IWU which ranks fourth in the country in kills per set at 13.63. The St. Charles, Ill. native leads the team with 3.53 kills per set and 226 kills, the only Titan over the 200 mark. From the service line, the junior is second on the team in aces with 26. Senior Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) is coming off a big week where she hit .355 with 13 kills to follow Bardouniotis. Sophomore Carly Whitaker's (Morton, Ill.-Morton) powerful left arm has produced 2.54 kills per set and 155 kills to sit second on the team.

Senior Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) and junior Lauren O'Brien (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) have been a top-10 assist per set tandem in the country, ranking ninth(12.32). Feeney's 362 assists lead the way along with her 5.66 assists per set. O'Brien follows her with 264 assists, good enough for 4.71 per set.

The Titans have a stronghold on the all-time series against the Vikings (8-10, 0-2 CCIW) with a 38-4 since 1994. Illinois Wesleyan has swept NPU the past two seasons after dropping three straight in 2022-23. From 1994-2012 the Green and White won 27 consecutive matches, sweeping 20 of them. A season ago, IWU finished off the Vikings in straight sets thanks to five Titans with five-or-more kills and a hitting percentage of .385. Bardouniotis put up a double-double, with nine kills and 11 digs. Whitaker followed with eight strikes, while Feeney and O'Brien teamed up for 37 assists, 20 and 17, respectively.

First serve between the Titans and Vikings inside the Shirk Center is set for 6 p.m. Live coverage of the match can be found on iwusports.com.

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