Bardouniotis & Lawton Earn CCIW Player of the Week Honors

Bardouniotis garners hitter, Lawton acquires defensive accolades

9/7/2026 3:00:00 PM

NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin announced its first weekly awards of the season Monday, Sept 8, with juniors Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) and Alysa Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) of the No. 8 Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team earning honors. Bardouniotis was tabbed the CCIW Hitter of the Week, while Lawton took home the conference's Defensive Player of the Week award. The two helped the Green and White jump off to a 5-0 start to the season with wins over No. 17 Hope College and No. 24 University of Dubuque.

Bardouniotis received the third CCIW Hitter of the Week honor of her career, having earned it Oct. 6, 2025 and Oct. 27, 2025. The outside hitter put on a show in the season's first week of action, leading the IWU attack with 91 points, 41 more than the next Titan. She registered 75 kills over 19 sets for 3.95 kills per set. She locked in a .293 hitting percentage for the week. Her most efficient performance of the five matches came against Wartburg, collecting 16 kills on a .424 hitting percentage in the three-set match. Against Aurora, she set a career high with 21 hammers to help the Green and White to a five-set win. From the service line, Bardouniotis secured eight aces, third-most on the team, with four coming against DU and two versus Hendrix. Bardouniotis capped off her week by being named to the IWU Tournament I All-Tournament team.

Lawton raked in the honor for the third time in her career, after earning it once her freshman year (Sept. 17, 2024) and again her sophomore season (Sept. 8, 2025). The libero was everywhere on the defensive side of the ball with 105 digs over five matches. Lawton appeared in all 19 sets for the Titans and snagged 17 digs in the season opener then recorded a career-high 41 against Aurora. Her total is tied for the most across Division III this season and ranks tied for third-most in program history. She followed that performance with 13, 14, and 20 digs in three matches of the IWU Tournament I for an impressive 5.53 digs per set. In serve receive, Lawton secured a .980 receiving percentage with just one error in 49 attempts. Her big week defensively helped the Titans limit their opponents to a .152 hitting percentage. Lawton's dominance reaped the rewards as she was named the Most Valuable Player of the IWU Tournament I.

Bardouniotis, Lawton and the rest of the Titans travel across time zones into Greencastle, Ind. for a match against DePauw University Friday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. ET. The Green and White will stay in the state of Indiana for the Earlham Tournament Saturday, Sept. 12 against Austin College and Centre College.

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