Skip To Main Content
Women's volleyball cele
Jimmy Naprstek/Kodiak Creative
0
Hope Hope 0-2,0-0 Michigan Intercol. Ath. Assn.
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 3-0,0-0 CCIW
Hope Hope
0-2,0-0 Michigan Intercol. Ath. Assn.
0
Final
3
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
3-0,0-0 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Hope Hope 18 15 15 (0)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Women’s Volleyball Soars Past Flying Dutch in Top-20 Battle

Titans pick up first ranked win of the season

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The eighth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team swept No. 17 Hope College, 3-0, Friday, Sept. 4 in the IWU Tournament I at the Shirk Center with set scores of 25-15, 25-18, 25-15. IWU improves to 3-0 while Hope slides to 0-2.

Junior Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) spearheaded the Titan attack with 10 kills, followed by junior Graci Junis (Morton, Ill.-Morton) and sophomore Carly Whittaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton) who tied with seven each. Backing up the hitters were senior Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) notching 16 assists and sophomore Lauren O'Brien (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) following with 11. 

Defense had junior Alysa Lawton's (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) name written all over it, where she posted 13 digs. Junior Juliana Valdez (Palos Heights, Ill.-Marist) took the lead in blocks with two. 

As a team, IWU led the stat sheet with 39 kills at a 0.263 attack percentage above Hope's 0.65. The Titans controlled the service line, with eight aces led by Lawton who notched three, and Feeney, who grabbed two. 

The first set was a back-and-forth battle between the Titans and the Flying Dutch. Tied at six, Whitaker slammed home a kill and straight hammers from Junis made the lead 10-7. Hope swung momentum back in its favor charging to a 13-12 deficit, but that's as close as it would get. Senior Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) contributed to the lead and Bardouniotis carried the load late to finish the opening set.

The Green and White faltered in the front half of the second set, but a kill from Whitaker and a block from Valdez tied it up at 15 and IWU set off on a 10-point run with Lawton at the service line. She grabbed an ace, and on the next play set Valdez up for a kill that forced Hope to call a timeout at 17-15. The break did nothing to slow the Titan's momentum, with Valdez continuing to guard the net and Hope struggling on the offense. Another kill for Valdez and two aces for Lawton handed IWU the second set 25-15.  

In the third set, IWU jumped out to a quick three point lead. The Titans kept control with a Bardouniotis service ace and a senior Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) kill to make it 7-2. Sophomore Shelby Sennett (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) kept a strong day from the service line going with an ace to make it 14-7 as Whitaker and Junis swung their arms for straight kills to make it 21-12. Four more kills from the Green and White completed the Green and White's second sweep of the season and its first ranked win of the young year.

Illinois Wesleyan is back in action at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, Sept. 5, with a match against Hendrix College. The Titans will then spar with the Spartans of 24th-ranked University of Dubuque at 1 p.m to wrap up the IWU Tournament I.
Print Friendly Version