BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - For the third consecutive week, the Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team stayed atop the American Volleyball Coaches Association Coaches Poll announced Tuesday, Oct. 27. The Green and White travel to North Central College for its College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin regular season finale Wednesday, Oct. 28. First serve inside Gregory Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.
With a win, the Titans can clinch the conference regular season outright with an 8-0 record for the third straight season. They would be the first team in the CCIW to three-peat since Millikin did so from 2015-17, and the fourth team in conference history, joining the Big Blue, Carthage (2004-09) and Elmhurst (1998-00).
The Green and White accumulated 1,889 points in the AVCA Coaches Poll and 65 out of 76 first-place votes. Centre, the Titans' lone loss, are No. 2 with a 22-1 mark, earning the other 11 first-place nods and 1,776 points adjusted. UW-Oshkosh stayed at No. 3 and WashU moved up two spots to fourth-ranked, setting up a No. 1 and No. 4 ranked matchup Saturday, Oct. 31 at the Shirk Center. UWO received 1,729 points and WashU snagged 1,575, while Colby wrapped up the top five with 1,554.
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Riding the second-longest win streak in program history at 14, Illinois Wesleyan takes its 21-1 overall record and 7-0 CCIW mark north. The Titans have won 25 straight sets with eight consecutive sweeps, most recently dominating Carthage at the Shirk Center, Oct. 21. As the conference regular season winds down, Illinois Wesleyan has dropped just two sets in league play and has won 15 in a row.
A balanced offensive attack orchestrated by senior Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) and sophomore Lauren O'Brien (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) has the Titans fourth in the nation in assists per set at 12.63. Feeney enters the week as the conference's reigning setter of the week for her 23-assist, nine-dig performance against Carthage. It was her first conference weekly honor of the year and fourth in her storied career. Feeney and O'Brien have tallied 5.84 and 4.83 assists per set, respectively, and have tallied more than 800 helpers this season.
Commanding the defense, junior Alsya Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) has been a stalwart in the back row. She reeled in her fifth CCIW Defensive Player of the Week honor of the season Monday, Oct. 26. The libero is 17th nationally, and first in the CCIW, in digs per set at 5.49, helping the IWU defense lead the conference in the category with 17.04. A strong net presence from junior Juliana Valdez (Palos Heights, Ill.-Marist) and senior Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) lead the blocks category with 66 and 56, respectively, for a top-three rank in the league.
The offensive firepower ranks at the top of CCIW in hitting percentage and kills per set at 13.77 and .229, respectively. Senior Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) has developed into a go-to option for the Titans as of late with a .298 attack percentage and 2.12 kills per set on the season. The senior co-captain is coming off an impressive showing against Carthage with 14 kills at a .542 clip and is hitting .358 in league play with 2.35 kills per set. Senior Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) leads the team with 3.28 kills per set with 259. Sophomore Carly Whitaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton) is hitting at a .289 clip with 2.85 kills per set and 196 total. The middle duo of Valdez and Palmer are both hitting north of .300 at .339 and .307, respectively.
Illinois Wesleyan has dominated the Cardinals, especially over the past 10 years. IWU holds a 27-14 advantage since 1994 and is 11-1 over the past decade. In Naperville, the Green and White are 9-8 with the last victory coming in a five-set thriller in 2024. The Titans have won four straight in the series and have not fallen in Naperville since 2014. Illinois Wesleyan took the first six matches from 1994 to 1996 before NCC made its run in the mid-2000s, winning seven of nine matches. A season ago, the Cardinals flew down to the Shirk Center for a quick three-set match as the Titans dismantled NCC 26-24, 25-16 and 25-14. Bardouniotis had nine kills, 13 digs and three aces. Palmer added seven kills while O'Brien dished out 16 assists.
Illinois Wesleyan's full 2026 schedule can be found here.
