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Alex Bardouniotis celebrates
Audrey Peterson
1
Wheaton (IL) WHEIL 5-13,0-2 CCIW
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 13-1,2-0 CCIW
Wheaton (IL) WHEIL
5-13,0-2 CCIW
1
Final
3
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
13-1,2-0 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Wheaton (IL) WHEIL 13 14 25 18 (1)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 25 19 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Titans Tame Thunder in Four

Bardouniotis, offense led the way

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The fourth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team ran its record to 13-1 on the season and 2-0 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin with a four-set win over Wheaton College Wednesday evening, Sept. 30. IWU came away with the win via 25-13, 25-14, 19-25, and 25-18 set scores to give Wheaton its first conference loss and a 6-14 mark.

Juniors Graci Junis (Morton, Ill.-Morton) and Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) along with senior Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) headlined the attack. Bardouniotis racked up a match-high 18 kills on a .324 clip, with Junis joining her in double figures with 13 kills of her own. Shannon secured nine kills on a .471 attack percentage. Junior Juliana Valdez (Palos Heights, Ill.-Marist) notched five kills without an error over 11 swings, good for a .455 clip. 

Junior Alysa Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) was credited with a match-leading 12 digs, while Bardouniotis and Junis chipped in 11 apiece to complete double-doubles. Valdez paced the team with three blocks and sophomore Carly Whitaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton) and junior Libby Detweiler (Downs, Ill.-Tri Valley) recorded two rejections each.

Senior Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) and sophomore Lauren O'Brien (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) directed an IWU attack that collected a .237 to .139 lead in attacking percentage and a 57-35 advantage in kills. Feeney finished with 23 assists and O'Brien followed with 19 alongside two aces. Wheaton held the lead in total blocks, 12-7, but IWU led in aces 11-3. Junis racked up seven aces to lead the night.

Illinois Wesleyan rolled out to an 8-3 lead on a kill from Shannon in the first and leaned on a potent attack to charge ahead one set to none. The Titans hit .343 in the set with Bardouniotis churning out six kills on 11 swings. One of her six hammers in the early goings came on a nifty set from Junis to push IWU ahead, 22-12. Bardouniotis struck again moments later, this time on a helper from O'Brien, to cue set point. A Wheaton error finished off the win, 25-13, as the Titans took control of the match.

The Thunder hit better in the second set, but so did the Titans as Illinois Wesleyan finished with a .257-.103 lead in attacking percentage. Trailing early, Shannon and Palmer dialed up kills to level the score at five. Junis' kills sandwiched one from Bardouniotis to propel IWU ahead, 9-7. Holding a two-point edge 11-9, the Green and White followed the hot-handed serve of Junis. Fueling a nine-point run, Junis dished out five aces including four straight to stretch the lead to double digits, 19-9. Two Thunder timeouts did little to slow the Titans as senior Paige Peterson's (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) kill maintained a 10-point cushion, 22-12. Peterson later notched an assist on a Whitaker kill to close out the 25-14 win as the two teams switched sides. 

Illinois Wesleyan's momentum stalled in the third as Wheaton forced a fourth set behind stout net defense. The home team led 7-5 on an O'Brien ace, but the Thunder rallied to tie the score at 12 all. Wheaton's spurt continued as the visitors jumped ahead 14-12 into an IWU timeout, before expanding to as many as six on the back of seven blocks in the set. Illinois Wesleyan chipped away late, but the deficit proved too much as WC extended the match, 25-19.

The Green and White bounced back in the fourth, riding a kill and ace from Bardouniotis to a 7-4 lead. Feeney fooled the Thunder with a dump set and set Junis on the next point for a six-point cushion, 13-7, to bring about a Wheaton timeout. 

Shannon kept things rolling out of the pause, hammering down a pair of kills including a bullet down the line. After another Wheaton timeout, Palmer and Detweiler teamed up for a stuff. Palmer posted a big swing to stretch the lead to eight, 22-16. Another Palmer kill and a Wheaton miscue put the Titans on the brink, 24-17, before Junis put a bow on the night, 25-18.

The Green and White kickoff Homecoming festivities with a match against Millikin University Friday, Oct. 2. First serve from the Shirk Center is slated for 7 p.m. with the 1991 Titan women's volleyball team set to be recognized prior. The 1991 squad made the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance 35 years ago.
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