BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The top-seeded Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team welcomes fourth-seeded Millikin University back to the Shirk Center for a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin semifinal showdown Thursday, Nov. 12. The Titans begin the postseason with a 25-3 ledger while MU defeated Carthage Tuesday, Nov. 10 to improve its record to 15-16 and earn a date with the Green and White. IWU and the Big Blue battle at 7 p.m. inside the Shirk Center.

The 2026 CCIW Tournament marks the 40th iteration of the event, being held every year with the exception of 2020. The Titans are looking for their third consecutive CCIW Tournament Championship, and would join Elmhurst (1986-88 and 2000-02) and Carthage (2006-11) as the only programs to have won three straight CCIW Tournament titles. The Green and White have won the tournament six times in program history. 

The Titans bypassed the quarterfinal round via its third consecutive CCIW Regular Season Championship with an 8-0 record. It marked the first team to three-peat the conference regular season since Millikin from 2015-18, and fourth all-time, joining Carthage (2004-09) and Elmhurst (1998-00). The Green and White's regular season included its best start through 20 matches (19-1), a 17-match win streak, and its best national ranking in program history at No. 1 in the Oct. 13 Week 6 American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll. 

The league office released its All-CCIW teams Tuesday, Nov. 10 as IWU led with six selections. The Titans posted four on the first team in seniors Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community), and Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park), along with juniors Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) and Alysa Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep). Senior Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.) and sophomore Carly Whitaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton) landed Second Team All-CCIW status. Feeney was named the conference's setter of the year for the second straight season and Lawton dominated the regular season to claim defender of the year. The Illinois Wesleyan coaching staff was repeated as the CCIW Coaching Staff of the Year.

A nationally ranked attack sits fifth in kills per set at 13.65, with the Titans are second in the country in assists per set at 12.73. Bardouniotis leads IWU in kills per set at 3.38 and has tallied 345 smashes this season. Whitaker and Shannon follow with 2.43 and 2.10 kills per set, respectively. The trio has led the balanced attack all season along with Palmer, junior Juliana Valdez (Palos Heights, Ill.-Marist) and junior Graci Junis (Morton, Ill.-Morton). Valdez leads the team in attack percentage as a middle at .295. Palmer sits third at .285 with 2.21 kills per set while Junis has 2.41 points per set doing it from the outside and behind the service line.

Feeney spreads the wealth to the trio, dishing out close to 600 assists this season at 598. Her assists per set sit at 5.86 to lead the team while her setting counterpart, sophomore Lauren O'Brien (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) has 4.76 assists per set. O'Brien is coming off her best performance of the season with 26 assists against Westminster in the regular season finale. She enters the postseason four helpers away from 1000 in her career with 447 this season.

Lawton's impressive regular season ended with 561 digs and 5.50 per set. She put together nine performances of double-digit digs which has propelled her to rank 16th in the country in digs per set. Her passing out of system has helped the ferocious attack, following the two setters with 138 assists. Valdez has accompanied her defensively, being a stalwart at the net, with a team-leading 92 blocks. Palmer follows with 69 of her own. Bardouniotis and Junis sit second and third on the team in digs, respectively, with 329 and 307 digs apiece. The Titans held opponents to a .145 attack percentage in the regular season.

The Big Blue return to the Shirk Center for the third time this season, after knocking off the Firebirds, 3-1, in Decatur, Ill. to open the CCIW Tournament. Millikin made its first trip to the Shirk Center for IWU's Homecoming match with the Titans sweeping MU Friday, Oct. 2. The Big Blue returned in late October for IWU Tournament III as it won a five-set match against UC Santa Cruz. 

With the win earlier this season, IWU took a 31-30 advantage over MU since 1994. In the CCIW Tournament, Millikin holds the upper hand in 12 matchups against the Green and White with an 8-4 mark. Bardouniotis led the way in the previous match against the Big Blue with 11 kills. Feeney and O'Brien tallied 21 and 19 assists, respectively. Lawton made 19 scoops in the three-set victory. IWU held Millikin to a .102 attack percentage while IWU hit .230. The last time Millikin and Illinois Wesleyan squared off in the CCIW Tournament, IWU took a five-set thriller in 2023 in the championship match to advance to the NCAA Tournament.

Tickets can be purchased at the gate or can by clicking here. Adult general admission tickets can be purchased for $11 while seniors, youth (6-12), and military tickets are $6.  Live stats and a live stream will be provided for the semifinal match and can be found on the women's volleyball schedule page at iwusports.com. First serve between the Titans and Big Blue is scheduled for 7 p.m.