Skip To Main Content
9-5-2026 WVB vs Dubuque Recap Photo
Kodiak Creative
0
Hendrix Hend 2-1,0-0 SCAC
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 4-0,0-0 CCIW
Hendrix Hend
2-1,0-0 SCAC
0
Final
3
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
4-0,0-0 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Hendrix Hend 19 14 17 (0)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 25 25 (3)
2
Dubuque DBQ 3-2,0-0 American Rivers
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 5-0,0-0 CCIW
Dubuque DBQ
3-2,0-0 American Rivers
2
Final
3
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
5-0,0-0 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Dubuque DBQ 14 26 25 25 10 (2)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 28 21 20 15 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Women’s Volleyball Moves to 5-0 with Pair of Victories

Titans secure second top-25 win of the weekend

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Finishing off a season-opening five-game homestand, the eighth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team ran its record to 5-0 on the year with wins over Hendrix College and No. 24 University of Dubuque. IWU toppled Hendrix (2-1) (25-19, 25-14, 25-17) before outlasting the upset-minded Spartans (1-2) in five sets (25-14, 28-26, 21-25, 20-25, 15-10).

The Green and White landed three on the IWU Tournament I all-tournament team with junior Alysa Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) being named Tournament MVP. Senior Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill-Normal Community) and junior Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) joined the libero with the honors.

Game One Illinois Wesleyan 3, Hendrix 0

IWU's offense excelled over Hendrix, with 45 kills at a 0.303 attack percentage, where Hendrix fell behind at 0.163. Bardouniotis led the attack with 10 kills, followed by seniors Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-Depaul College Prep) and Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) who grabbed nine and eight, respectively. 

Feeney dominated at the service line with a career-high five aces, and Bardounitios followed with two. Sophomore Lauren O'Brien (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) set up the offense with 18 assists, and Feeney helped out with 15. 

Lawton backed up the setters with six assists, and ran the defense with 14 digs. Bardouniotis grabbed seven as Feeney grabbed six to aid the defense. Palmer defended the net with five blocks, and Bardouniotis found herself in her fifth stat column at 3 blocks. 

The Green and White kept its distance from the Warriors in the first match, controlling all three sets. Feeney started the party with three service aces in the first four possessions to begin the day. IWU kept momentum rolling, growing the lead to 15-6 with a pair of kills from Palmer. Hendrix crawled back to cut it to 23-19 but a timeout from the head coach Kim Nelson-Brown reset IWU to finish off the set.

Set two started similarly to the first one with IWU keeping the momentum, and a 9-3 lead, highlighted by kills from Bardouniotis and junior Graci Junis (Morton, Ill.-Morton), and Juliana Valdez (Palos Heights, Ill.-Marist). The Green and White handled a fight back from the Warriors to end up scoring six out of the last nine points to take the second set, 25-14.

Feeney continued her strong day at the service line with two aces to begin the third set and then assisted a kill to Palmer for an early 4-1 lead. IWU capitalized on some WC miscues, growing the lead to 10-6 before Hendrix battled back. Leading 12-11 IWU picked up a big kill from Junis on an over the shoulder set from Lawton and O'Brien served up an ace for a three point lead. IWU took complete control of the final set thanks to a run from Shannon that featured five kills in the span of seven points as the Green and White took the third set 25-17

Game Two: Illinois Wesleyan 3, Dubuque 2

The Titans handled the Spartans early, but a controlled third and fourth set by DU flipped the court to a dominant IWU squad in the fifth. Illinois Wesleyan rounded out the match with 68 kills to the Spartans 62. The offense on the Titan side was all Bardouniotis and Whitaker, who garnered 18 kills apiece, a career-high for the sophomore. The usual suspects of Feeney and O'Brien helped out with 31 and 20 assists. The pair of Bardouniotis and Lawton controlled the service line with four aces each, and Feeney accrued three of her own, continuing her strong start at the line.

The team ended with a 0.222 attack percentage, but the key was in the defense for IWU. Bardouniotis was all over it with a career-high 21 digs, followed by Lawton's 20. Feeney took the third spot with a career-high 19. Palmer held it down at the net with two blocks.  

The first set of game two started the same as the first one, a service ace from Feeney and kills from Bardouniotis and Palmer gave the Titans a 3-1 lead. The Spartans never caught up from there, with IWU maintaining a lead of at least three for the entire set. Feeney and O'Brien fed the attack, and Junis and sophomore Carly Whitaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton) traded kills to set the team up 11, and a Spartan error gave the Titans their largest lead of the set at 22-10. The Green and White couldn't be slowed down, and a kill from Shannon and a Dubuque service error gave the set to IWU 25-14. 

The second set was a sparring match between the Spartans and the duo of Bardouniotis and Whitaker. Down four late in the second, the tandem racked up points to make it 22-20, and an ace from Lawton got the Titans within one. Junis tooled a block to tie it at 22, forcing a Spartan timeout. After the break, the two teams were point-for-point on errors and kills. Bardouniotis smacked down a kill at 25-25, and a DU error gave IWU the edge. Dubuque caught up 26-26, but Bardouniotis snatched the set with two kills, 28-26.  

In the third, the Green and White just couldn't seem to keep their momentum. The Spartans grabbed a small early lead, and IWU never quite found their footing. Bardouniotis and Whitaker teamed up to help keep the Green and White standing, with backup from Valdez. Bardouniotis grabbed the first two kills of the set and a service ace tied it up 3-3. A kill from Junis helped the Titans pull ahead 4-3, but the lead was short-lived. Whitaker and Bardouniotis grabbed kills here and there, aided by an ace from Lawton at 22-20, but Dubuque pulled away and took the set 25-21. 

The Titans faltered again in the fourth, falling behind after a slew of errors at 11-7. Shannon tried to swing momentum back in IWU's favor with a kill, but another three point run from Dubuque forced the home team into a timeout. Shannon tried again after the break, but the Green and White still couldn't catch up. Bardouniotis kickstarted a run that helped the team crawl back within three at 22-19, but Dubuque answered with a run of their own and took it 25-19. 

The Titans walked into the fifth with more fight, setting off on a 5-0 start on the backs of a strong net presence from Palmer, aided by Bardouniotis. Kills from Whitaker and Junis kept the squad fired up and ahead of the Spartans. 

Palmer and Whitaker denied a swing from the Spartans at 13-9, sending Dubuque into a timeout. UD took the ensuing point, but Feeney set Whitaker and Barouniotis for back-to-back kills to polish off the set, 15-10. 

Illinois Wesleyan will enjoy some time off before returning to action with its first road trip of the season Friday, Sept. 11. The Titans will travel to Greencastle, Ind. for a 6 p.m. ET first serve at DePauw University.

 
Print Friendly Version