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Carly Whitaker and Eleanor Palmer
A Peterson Photo
0
North Park NPU 8-11,0-3 CCIW
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 17-1,6-0 CCIW
North Park NPU
8-11,0-3 CCIW
0
Final
3
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
17-1,6-0 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
North Park NPU 16 10 21 (0)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Top-Ranked Women’s Volleyball Sweeps North Park

Whitaker, Palmer powered attack

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - On Dig Pink Night inside the Shirk Center, the No. 1 Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team downed North Park University in straight sets Wednesday, Oct. 14. IWU jumped to 17-1 on the year and 6-0 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play with set scores of 25-16, 25-10, 25-21. North Park stumbled to 8-11 (0-3 CCIW).

Senior Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) and sophomore Carly Whitaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton) paced the Titans with big nights. Palmer cranked out a team-high nine kills on a .500 clip and Whitaker tacked on eight on a .727 clip. Whitaker added three blocks. 

Senior Sophia Fenney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) and sophomore Lauren O'Brien (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) dished out 16 assists apiece for an IWU attack that hit .292 on the night. Overall, the Titans led in kills (37-33), assists (35-29), aces (5-1), blocks (9-5), and digs (41-39). 

Juniors Juliana Valdez (Palos Heights, Ill.-Marist) and Alysa Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) stabilized the defense, with Valdez leading the net presence and Lawton fueling the back-row play. Valdez notched seven blocks, one solo and six assists, alongside four kills. Lawton tallied a team-best 14 digs and was joined in double-figures by junior Alex Bardouniotis' (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) 10.

Illinois Wesleyan's attack came out red-hot, firing at a .323 clip to open the match with a 25-16 win. Senior Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) came out of the gate with a kill and Valdez put the next set away for a 2-0 lead early. Junior Graci Junis (Morton, Ill.-Morton) hammered down a kill to stretch the lead to four, 5-1, and force a quick NPU reset. IWU's momentum bridged the timeout, as Palmer piled on kills. Whitaker doubled up the Vikings with a tool off the NPU block, 20-10. 

North Park scored twice before Palmer pushed the lead to 23-12 with her fourth kill of the set. After Whitaker put the Titans on the brink, Illinois Wesleyan capitalized on a free ball sent over by the visitors with another Palmer kill to take the set.

The rout continued in set two as a 1-1 tie turned into an 11-1 Titan lead thanks to five attack errors and swings by Shannon. The Green and White rolled through the set as power-packed swings from Bardouniotis and Palmer stretched the lead to 19-6. Illinois Wesleyan closed the set with defense as Valdez and junior Libby Detweilier (Downs, Ill.-Tri Valley) combined for a stuff at the net and a 25-10 triumph.

Shannon soared through the middle for a kill to put the Titans on the board to tie the score at one then another monster IWU run ensued. The Green and White scored 10 of the next 14 points to force an NPU timeout with the home team in front, 11-5. 

North Park chipped away, but a Junis kill alongside two Viking miscues pushed IWU ahead, 15-11, at the media. The gap remained narrow, with the visitors pulling within two, 17-15, but a bad set made it a three-point gap into an NPU timeout. The Green and White held on, finishing off the sweep with a Whitaker kill. 

The Titans begin their three-match weekend Friday, Oct. 16 against tournament host, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at the Polito's Invite in Stevens Point, Wis. The Green and White will then take on Lawrence University and No. 2 University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh to wrap the tournament.
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