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BLOOMINGTON, Illinois - NCAA Division III women's volleyball between Illinois Wesleyan University and Millikin University on October 2, 2026 at Shirk Center. (Photo by Jimmy Naprstek/Kodiak Creative)
Jimmy Naprstek/Kodiak Creative
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 15-1,4-0 CCIW
0
Elmhurst ELM 10-6,1-1 CCIW
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
15-1,4-0 CCIW
3
Final
0
Elmhurst ELM
10-6,1-1 CCIW
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 25 25 (3)
Elmhurst ELM 22 12 21 (0)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Titans Breeze Past Bluejays in Sweep

Women’s Volleyball extends win streak to eight

ELMHURST, Ill. - The No. 2 Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team snapped Elmhurst University's seven-match win streak with a 25-22, 25-12, and 25-21 sweep of the Bluejays at R.A. Faganel Hall Wednesday, Oct. 7. The Titans pick up their second straight sweep and are 15-1 overall with a 4-0 mark in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play. Elmhurst falls to 10-6 on the season and 1-1 in conference play. 

A ginormous night from senior Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) was highlighted by a .529 hitting percentage with 10 kills on 17 swings. The co-captain collected one total block and made just one error. Shannon helped the Titan attack hit .274 as the country's second-ranked team in kills per set finished with 43 kills and 14.3 in the category. The Green and White held the edge in blocks with seven compared to EU's four. Illinois Wesleyan hit its best in the dominating second set, sitting at .400, compared to the Bluejays' .000.

Individually, junior Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) led with a team high 12 kills at a .250 clip. Senior Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) dished out her jersey number of assists, 22, and added a kill with five digs. Junior Alysa Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) returned to her hometown and made 13 digs with five assists and a service ace. 

Elmhurst presented IWU a gift to open the match with a service error then Junis' return serve made it 2-0 on an ace. The two point lead was as big it would get as the two traded points, until  the Green and White took three straight points when junior Juliana Valdez (Palos Heights, Ill.-Marist) sandwiched a kill in between to Bluejay mistakes, causing an EU timeout at 12-9. Out of the timeout, Elmhurst pulled within one at 12-11 but the Titans took control of the set after that. Off a Feeney set, Shannon hammered a kill before Valdez threw a block party with consecutive vetoes, teaming up with sophomore Carly Whitaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton) and Bardouniotis. Valdez was not done yet as she used a kill to propel the lead before senior Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) thumped the hardwood for an 18-12 lead. The Bluejays made their flight back into the set at 18-14 but miscues by EU daunted the effort. IWU returned the favor as three consecutive errors pulled Elmhurst within two, but Bardouniotis responded with the set-winning swing.

The Titans came out strong with a 6-2 advantage in the second set as Valdez and Bardouniotis kept their arms loose with kills. Whitaker tacked on a point from Lawton and a double block from Palmer and Bardouniotis made it an 8-3 advantage. The Green and White stayed aggressive as the lead blossomed to seven (15-6) on a Valdez and Shannon rejection, a swing from Shannon, and a nifty attack from Feeney. Illinois Wesleyan kept the pressure on, doubling up EU, and cruising to a 25-12 set win. 

The third set looked like it would be a short one as IWU etched out an early 4-0 lead on three straight swings from Shannon and Bardouniotis. Junis added the fourth point with an ace and Whitaker, along with Bardouniotis, made it 6-1. Lawton contributed her first ace to make it 7-1. Elmhurst stopped the pain momentarily with straight swings to make it 7-3, but Whitaker doubled up the Bluejays at 10-5 with a kill. EU trimmed the lead to 12-8 thanks to Titan miscues and a Bluejay block but IWU kept Elmhurst at arms length. Palmer and Shannon teamed up for straight kills to make it 19-14 then Junis and Palmer sniffed out a slide play to reject a swing by EU. Two kills and an ace brought Elmhurst within four at 21-17. A Junis kill and a couple attack errors from Elmhurst set up match point for IWU. With their backs against the wall, the Bluejays made up four points but the comeback came to a halt as Shannon smoked a kill off the blocker for the sweep.

The Green and White continues its road trip, heading west to Augustana College Friday, Oct. 9. First serve from Rock Island is set for 7 p.m.
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