BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - In a top-20 matchup inside the Shirk Center, the sixth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team came out on top over No. 16 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in four sets. The Titans (8-1) downed the Warhawks (4-2) by set scores of 25-19, 25-16, 23-25, and 25-17 to secure their third top-25 win of the season.
The attack was manufactured by senior Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) and sophomore Carly Whitaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton), each taking over at certain parts of the match. Whitaker led the squad in kills with 13 behind an outstanding .522 clip, while Shannon was right behind her with an even dozen. Shannon hit .375 for the match. Senior Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) and junior Graci Junis (Morton, Ill.-Morton) tacked on nine kills apiece.
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As a team, Illinois Wesleyan hit .283 with 63 kills on 159 attempts. UW-Whitewater finished with 48 kills on 132 swings, compiling a .212 attacking percentage. Defensively, the teams tallied 54 digs apiece as UWW recorded more blocks at five while IWU made five. Junior Alysa Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) led the way once again with 23 digs and Juliana Valdez (Palos Heights, Ill.-Marist) was strong at the net with four blocks.
The Green and White fell behind early in the opening set, which forced head coach Kim Nelson-Brown to call a timeout. The break swung momentum to the Titans as IWU dominated the rest of the set. Junis led the way with back-to-back kills to get the train back on the tracks. Her consecutive kills were part of a nine-point run with senior Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) on the service line for the home team. The spurt featured a pair of aces by Feeney along with a Valdez kill and a Junis-Valdez rejection. With the run, Illinois Wesleyan turned a once 12-5 deficit into a 14-12 lead.
IWU never relinquished the advantage despite UWW tying the score twice. After a Warhawk stuff pulled the visitors within one, 20-19, Junis and Palmer fired off back-to-back kills. A miscue prompted a Whitewater timeout, but it did little to alter the Titans as Palmer and Whitaker slammed down sets from O'Brien to complete the comeback, 25-19.
Tied at two early in the second, the Green and White went on another run, this time powered by Whitaker. The lefty put together three straight kills to make it 6-2. The sophomore later uncorked a big swing to stretch the lead to six, 17-11, as UWW elected to burn a timeout.
The Warhawks took the next two points out of the reset, but the Titans went on a 4-1 run to up their lead to 21-14. A bad set by Whitewater along with kills from junior Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) and Shannon prompted another timeout but was once again ineffective as the home team took the set, 25-16.
Illinois Wesleyan rattled off the first four points of the third before UW-Whitewater pulled within two, 5-3. With the lead hovering around two, Feeney set Valdez for the kill. A UWW error was followed by a monstrous block by Valdez and Bardouniotis, allowing IWU to pull ahead, 13-8, but the Warhawks battled back to level the score at 17 all.
Playing through a series of ties, UW-Whitewater used a kill and ace to snag its first lead of the set, 22-21, then rattled off the next two points to set up set point, 24-21. Bardouniotis delivered a kill out of a reset to prolong the set and bring about a Warhawk timeout. An error kept the Titans alive, but a kill forced a fourth set, 25-23.
Valdez opened the fourth with a slam to the center of the floor and Feeney snuck a dump set in for a 3-2 lead. Moments later, Shannon came through with an out-of-system kill that ricocheted off the UWW back row to push IWU in front, 5-3.
UW-Whitewater responded with a four-point run to take control, 7-5, but Shannon once again came through for the home team. The senior ended a lengthy rally with a kill through the block. She dialed up her second straight kill with help from the friendly confines of the Shirk Center, as a shot rolled across the tape before dropping in for a kill to draw Illinois Wesleyan within one, 8-7.
Palmer tooled a block to snap a mini run by Whitewater and start a spurt for the Green and White. Whitaker put a back set from Feeney away and Junis aced the Warhawks to claw within one, 11-10. UWW attempted to sneak an attack in, but the Titans were there to clean it up ahead of another big swing from Whitaker to level the match at 11.
After a crosscourt kill from Bardouniotis, sophomore Shelby Sennett (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) made a tremendous play for a dig to set the table for another Bardouniotis hammer. The gritty defensive play by Sennett swung momentum in favor of the Green and White as UWW followed with an error.
Shannon responded with a kill a few points later and Palmer put away three straight balls to break open an 18-14 lead for the Titans. The swing forced Whitewater to take its second and final timeout.
The Warhawks took the first two points out of the reset to trim the lead in half, 18-16, but Junis tooled a block and Whitaker notched a pair of kills to stretch the lead to four, 21-17. IWU closed the match on a five-point run, with Junis, Valdez, and Whitaker notching kills to seal the win, 25-17.
The Green and White resume action this weekend, Friday-Saturday, Sept. 18-19, with its second home tournament of the season. IWU will face Wittenberg to begin with first serve at 7 p.m. inside the Shirk Center.
