BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The No. 2 Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team wrapped the regular season in a big way with a sweep over Westminster College on Senior Day Saturday, Nov. 2 at the Shirk Center. The Green and White tally the most wins under Kim Nelson Brown in the regular season, moving to 25-3 with a 25-18, 25-14, and 25-22 set win, while Westminster drops to 19-10.
The Titans celebrated the careers of five seniors prior to this afternoon's match in Cailin Shannon (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park), Mallory Monahan (Champaign, Ill.-St. Thomas More), Paige Peterson (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic), Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep), and Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community).
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Illinois Wesleyan had a hefty attack, hitting an impressive .311 with 53 kills. It is the second-best attack percentage of the season and third match in which IWU has hit .300 or better. The Green and White held leads in assists (53-28), service aces (6-2), blocks (7-5), and digs (54-45). The defense held the Blue Jays to hit .184 while IWU hit .432 in set two and .318 in set three to power the win.
Individually, it was a big day for the seniors as Shannon was fed all afternoon to hit .522 with 13 kills on 23 attempts. It is the best attack percentage in her career when she has over 20 attacks in a match. The senior also collected three block assists. Junior Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) snagged her sixth straight double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs. Freshman Josie Neukomm (Cissna Park, Ill.-Cissna Park) made her first career start and she made the most of it with 10 kills to hit .240 on 25 attacks.
Junior Alysa Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) led the way defensively with 22 digs. Bardouniotis' 10 trailed and sophomore Shelby Sennett (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) tallied eight digs. Junior Juliana Valdez (Palos Heights, Ill.-Marist) walled up at the net for two blocks while Bardouniotis and Shannon collected one and a half.
Shannon started Senior Day with a kill from Feeney for the first lead of the match. Bardouniotis floated one over the net that kissed the floor to make it 2-1 before Shannon hammered another kill from the right side, then denied an attack for a block with Valdez for a 4-1 lead. Valdez's block party continued as she rejected another one, this time with Neukomm for a 5-2 advantage. The Titans stayed in control from that point forward, as Palmer and Bardouniotis went back-to-back to make it 11-8.
The Blue Jays fought back but IWU fended off the attack as the Green and White grew its lead to four on a Neukomm attack from sophomore Lauren O'Brien (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic). O'Brien then set sophomore Carly Whitaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton) for a big swing and point to make it 19-14. After a couple of Blue Jay points, IWU found itself up 21-18 before Feeney took over behind the service line. Her ace made it 22-18 into a WC timeout. The break did not cool down Feeney as she went back to work behind the line after a veto from Shannon and Valdez. Needing two points for the opening set, Feeney served up a dying ace before beating the defense again for the set.
A quick second set started with Shannon and a pair of kills from Neukomm before Shannon topped the sandwich with a kill for a 4-0 lead. The Blue Jays flew back to get within one, 6-5, but IWU put together consecutive kills from Bardouniotis and Whitaker. Palmer was fed from O'Brien and Shannon put the Green and White into double digits with a 10-6 lead. The run continued as Palmer and Bardouniotis walled up for a block and Shannon added another kill to her tally to double up WC, 12-6.
Bardouniotis dropped in an ace to make it 16-9 and Shannon and Valdez hammered kills home from Feeney for an 18-11 lead. Peterson entered the match and immediately made an impact with a kill for a seven-point advantage, then Sennett followed with back-to-back aces for a 22-12 lead. Monahan took care of the rest of the set as she hammered home a kill from O'Brien and then tooled one off the blockers for the set.
Shannon's sensational day started the third set with another 1-0 lead. Feeney fed Neukomm for three straight points to give IWU a 5-4 lead before Palmer boosted it to 7-4. Westminster took its first lead of the match at 8-7 but a Whitaker score made it 9-8 home team. The two traded points but the desperate Westminster squad saw the Green and White extend the lead to 15-12. The Blue Jays battled back to 16-16 but IWU held them off again with three straight swings from Valdez, Neukomm, and Whitaker for a 19-16 lead into a Blue Jay timeout. Another WC rally gave it the lead, 22-21, but a Titan timeout reset a motivated group.
Bardouniotis came out of the break to tie the score at 22 before Valdez snuck in a kill and then teamed up with Shannon again for the rejection to put the Green and White at match point. After a Sennett dig, Feeney fooled the defense with an attack to polish off the sweep.
The Green and White turn the page to the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament, beginning Thursday, Nov. 12 at the Shirk Center. The Titans will host the semifinal match at 7 p.m.
