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Feeney readies to set
Ashtin Elder
2
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 24-3,8-0 CCIW
3
Winner UChicago UC 21-5,4-3 UAA
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
24-3,8-0 CCIW
2
Final
3
UChicago UC
21-5,4-3 UAA
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 23 20 25 12 (2)
UChicago UC 18 25 25 17 15 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Titans Fall in Five at No. 17 UChicago

Illinois Wesleyan resets for Senior Day Saturday, Nov. 7

CHICAGO - Playing in its second straight five-set match, the second-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team dropped its regular season road finale to No. 17 University of Chicago at the Ratner Athletic Center Wednesday, Nov. 4. The Titans fell by set scores of 18-25, 25-23, 25-20, 17-25, and 15-12 to dip to 24-3 while the Maroons improve to 21-5.

Senior Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) was a bright spot, tying a career-high in assists with 31. She tacked on 14 digs for her fifth double-double of the season and second in as many matches. Junior Juliana Valdez (Palos Heights, Ill.-Marist) returned to the city where she went to high school and hit .370 with 11 kills. She tallied a match-high five blocks. 

Juniors Graci Junis (Morton, Ill.-Morton) and Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles) led the Titans in kills with 13 apiece. They each tallied double-doubles with 16 and 18 digs, respectively. Junior Alysa Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) secured 22 digs to lead the Green and White.

Illinois Wesleyan hit .154 for 11.4 kills per set. The Titans dished out 53 assists and tallied six aces. IWU led UChicago in digs (94-91) and total blocks (10-8).

The Maroons came out ready in set one, jumping on the board with an ace but Junis responded with a swing from Feeney to even the score. The two felt each other out from there, trading points resulting in four ties until Senior Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) made it 8-7 in favor of the visiting team. Feeney followed the Palmer kill with an ace, but Chicago scored the next point to make it 10-8. With the Green and White up a pair, Valdez started a 4-0 run for IWU that included a Bardouniotis score and straight kill from senior Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.- Lake Park) to boost the lead to 14-8. The Maroons got back within five with a strike, but IWU answered the call with another Valdez kill from Feeney before sophomore Lauren O'Brien (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) found her go-to target in Palmer for a 17-10 lead. Valdez gave IWU its biggest lead of the set, 23-15. Bardouniotis secured set point with a feed from Feeney before the setter found sophomore Carly Whitaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton) to take the first set, 25-18. The Titan attack was fruitful in the opening set, hitting .342 with 17 kills.

Illinois Wesleyan got off to a 3-1 lead in set two as Bardouniotis and Valdez teamed up at the net for a rejection. Freshman Ashlyn Fazio (Pittsburgh, Pa.-North Hills Senior) came off the bench to serve, and beat the defense with an ace to give the Green and White a 5-3 advantage. After Chicago pulled within one, 7-6, O'Brien and Palmer were back at it as Palmer fired a pair of swings for a 9-6 edge. The Green and White grew its advantage to 20-15, but the Maroons did not go down quietly, taking a 4-0 run to climb within one, 20-19. Palmer and Whitaker stuffed an attack to make it 23-19 but Chicago rattled off 6-0 run to even the match at one set apiece. 

Momentum moved with the Maroons into the third set, getting off to a 3-0 lead. The Green and White trailed 5-4, before Chicago turned in a 10-point run for a 15-5 advantage. The Titans fought back slowly, using kills from Junis and Bardouniotis, alongside back-to-back blocks from Valdez to fire up the Green and White and get within four, 19-15. However, the rally ended there as UC's attack fended off the Titans with a 25-20 set win.

A regrouped Titan squad came out for the penultimate set motivated. Junis and Shannon connected on kills for a quick 2-0 lead and Feeney added an ace. An attack error from UC coupled with a Bardouniotis kill gave IWU a 5-0 lead, forcing a Maroon timeout. Junis connected on another kill to make it 6-2 and Feeney delivered assists to Bardouniotis and Valdez for a 9-4 advantage. The Titans kept the pressure on as Bardouniotis secured another strike and junior Hailey Rak (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Township) scored a pair of kills to make it 13-6. Feeney teamed up with Shannon for a point ahead of the media timeout, then she found Valdez out of the break for a 16-9 lead. The lead grew as Bardouniotis and Whitaker piled on to make it 19-12. Sophomore Shelby Sennett (Normal, Ill.-Nomal West) stepped behind the service line at 22-15 and made the defense miss twice for straight aces. Shannon capitalized on a set form O'Brien to force a fifth set, the Titans' second in as many matches.

The final set went the way of UC, riding a 4-1 start in the race to 15. Whitaker and Valdez rejected a Maroon attack to make it 5-3, but UC responded with a 4-1 run to take a 9-4 lead into a Titan timeout. The Green and White pulled within two at 13-11, but the Maroons prevailed with a 15-12 win.

Senior Day is on deck for the Titans as they host Westminster College Saturday, Nov. 7 at the Shirk Center. The senior celebration will take place at 3 p.m. with action starting shortly after.
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