BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - A deep field, highlighted by the No. 1 Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team, welcomes Millikin University, University of California Santa Cruz, No. 14 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and No. 4 WashU to the Shirk Center for IWU Tournament III, Friday-Saturday, Oct. 30-31. The Green and White kick off the tournament against the Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz Friday at 2:30 p.m. and close the night against UW-Eau Claire at 7 p.m. WashU meets the Titans at 3 p.m. Saturday to cap the tournament in a top-five showdown.
The women's volleyball program hosts two theme nights this weekend starting Friday with the Halloween Contest and Pack the Arena against the Blugolds at 7 p.m. The Titans are collecting cans for the Center for Hope Food Pantry Saturday, Oct. 31. Fans that bring five canned goods to any match Saturday will be given free entry into the Shirk Center.
People are also reading…
The Titans enter the weekend with a 22-1 record, and kick off five straight nonconference matches to close the regular season after sweeping the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin at 8-0. IWU topped North Central College yesterday, Oct. 28, in four sets with junior Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) leading the way. The returning All-American has tallied 3.24 kills per set on the season and leads the team in kills with 269. Sophomore Carly Whitaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton) follows with 2.58 kills per set with 206 kills. The duo, along with senior Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park), junior Graci Junis (Morton, Ill.-Morton), senior Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) and junior Juliana Valdez (Palos Heights, Ill.-Marist) have the Titans top five in the country in kills per set.
The balanced attack has been orchestrated by senior Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) and sophomore Lauren O'Brien (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic). The 6-2 system is led by Feeney with 5.81 assists per set and 482 on the season. O'Brien has dished out 4.77 assists per set and 358 total. The pair has proved to be one of the best setting duos in the country, as IWU sits in the top five with 12.6 assists per set this season.
The defense is coming off an impressive showing against the Cardinals, holding NCC to a .086 attack percentage. Four Titans tallied double-digit digs, with Junis leading the way racking up 18. The net presence totaled six blocks, three going to Palmer, and two going to Whitaker and Junis. Five-time CCIW Defensive Player of the Week, junior Alysa Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep), handles the back row with 450 digs this season. Her 5.42 digs per set leads the team, with Junis behind her with 3.17 and Bardouniotis posting 3.10 digs per set.
IWU Tournament III opens with just the second all-time meeting between the Titans and the Banana Slugs. The previous meeting came in 2004 in LaVerne, Calif., with IWU taking the five-set thriller which featured 240 points. Molly May led the way with 17 kills and 16 blocks for IWU on an explosive day. Natalie Quinton tallied 25 digs and Jenna Passananti dished out 47 assists. UCSC comes into the tournament with a 13-7 mark and is receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. The Banana Slugs and IWU have had similar competitors as UCSC swept North Park and Wheaton and defeated DePauw, 3-1. UC Santa Cruz will play three matches at the Shirk Center, facing UW-Eau Claire and Millikin following its match with the Titans.
The second match for IWU sees it play UWEC in Friday's nightcap. The Blugolds have the upper hand against the Green and White with a 9-3 record all time. Most recently, UW-Eau Claire took a five-set win against IWU Oct. 17, 2025. Friday's matchup sets up back-to-back seasons where both teams are ranked inside the top 15. The Green and White last defeated the Blugolds Oct. 28, 2023, snagging a 3-1 win. This season, UWEC climbed all the way to No. 4 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, but four straight losses in mid-October slipped the Blugolds to No. 14. UW-Eau Claire is 14-7 overall and has tallied three ranked wins this season.
WashU wraps the weekend at the Shirk Center with a top-five showdown against IWU. The Bears hold a 15-6 all-time record against the Green and White, but the Titans have a 3-2 lead in the past five matchups. Illinois Wesleyan swept the Bears in St. Louis a season ago, dominating sets two and three against the No. 13 Bears. Bardouniotis collected a double-double with a 10-kill, 11-dig performance, while Feeney and O'Brien handed out 19 and 16 assists, respectively. This season, WashU is 18-3 with seven top-25 wins, with its best win over then-No. 3 Trinity (Texas). Other than the Green and White, the Bears will face UW-Eau Claire Saturday at 12:30 p.m. for its two matches at the Shirk Center.
The Titans begin a busy weekend with UC Santa Cruz flying over 2,000 miles to visit the Shirk Center. IWU and the Banana Slugs have first serve at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30. Live coverage of the match along with tournament central can be found here.
