The Illinois Wesleyan women’s volleyball team travelled to St. Louis, Mo. to compete in the WashU Invite on October 9. The Titans took on University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the first match and Washington University in the evening.
UW-Whitewater crushed IWU with a straight set (25-10, 25-8, 25-23) and owned the court from start to finish, but the Titans did not go down without a fight.
Seniors Dana Kizkowski and Courtney McAuliffe led the Titan offensive with seven kills apiece. Senior Jessica McCall added another six kills against the Warhawks.
Kizkowski, McAuliffe and McCall were aided by senior Madi Corey and freshman Ava Porada with 15 and 10 assists, respectively.
Sophomore libero Faith Washko protected the Titans with a team high of 16 digs and an ace. McCall and Corey also produced an additional seven digs.
The Warhawks defensive moves kept the Titans at a .000 hitting percentage, compared to their own .321 in the opening set. Despite the defeat, IWU defense maintained a 50-49 lead in digs and a 27-26 victory in assists. Both teams managed 30 kills each.
After their daytime defeat by UW-Whitewater, the Titans brought the heat against WashU in their second match on the day. IWU took home victory with straight sets (30-28, 25-23, 25-17).
The Titans hit their stride after a slight 11-5 deficit. Sophomore Lilly Summers and McAuliffe produced two kills apiece, adding to Titans’ the seven-point run and bringing them to a 12-11 lead.
At the end of the first set, Summers was assisted by senior Riley Cross to add two additional kills to the board in order to break the 28-28 tie. The Titans ended set one 30-28.
The second set saw a close fight between the Bears and the Titans. Both teams maintained a steady 20-20 tie until the Titans seized the opportunity to add five kills.
Set number two was also taken by the Titans with a final score of 25-23.
The third and final set was swept up by Illinois Wesleyan. Within minutes, the Titans were already up 4-3 and did not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the match.
Cross added two aces and Corey produced two kills, widening the Titan lead and ending the match with a final score of 25-17.
Offensively, McAuliffe’s 11 kills led the Titans. She was followed by Summer with ten kills and McCall with seven kills and three aces. Corey and Porada also helped their team to victory with 19 and 13 assists.
McCall and Corey combatted WashU with 14 digs apiece.
Corey’s impressives work against the Warhawks and the Bears garnered CCIW attention, who granted her the title of CCIW Setter of the Week. During the Titans’ match against North Central, Corey set season highs of 30 assists, 19 digs and 12 kills, effectively leading the Titans to victory.
The women’s volleyball team takes on Carroll University in Waukesha, Wis. on Wednesday, October 13 and will next match up against Finlandia in Eau Claire, Wis. on Friday, October 15.