Illinois Wesleyan volleyball ends season after five-set loss to Calvin in NCAA regional
The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team concluded its season after a five-set defeat to Calvin University in the NCAA Regional Championship on Saturday night at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois. The Titans, ranked No. 2 nationally, lost to No. 19 Calvin by set scores of 25-22, 15-25, 22-25, 25-20, and 15-13.
This season marked significant achievements for Illinois Wesleyan. The team reached the Sweet Sixteen for the second consecutive year and only the third time in program history. Their final record stands at 28-3—the highest win total during head coach Kim Nelson-Brown’s tenure and the most victories since 1989. Additionally, Illinois Wesleyan captured both the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin regular season and tournament titles.
Senior Taylor French and sophomore Alex Bardouniotis were selected for the NCAA Bloomington Regional all-tournament team following their performances across three matches. In Saturday’s match, four Titans recorded double-doubles. French led with 26 kills and 16 digs while also contributing three aces, two blocks, and an assist. Bardouniotis posted 19 kills along with three assists and one block.
Freshman Carly Whitaker contributed ten kills with a .296 hitting percentage as well as six digs. Junior Sophia Feeney finished with a team-high of 28 assists plus four aces and thirteen digs; freshman Lauren O’Brien added twenty-two assists alongside thirteen digs.
Illinois Wesleyan registered seventy-two kills with a .200 hitting percentage compared to Calvin’s forty-seven kills at .178. Despite outpacing Calvin in kills, digs (95 to Calvin's 86), aces (9 to Calvin's eight), and assists (64 to forty-one), the Titans were overcome by Calvin’s blocking advantage—sixteen blocks against IWU's six.
The match featured several momentum shifts: after losing the first set narrowly, Illinois Wesleyan responded strongly in sets two and three before dropping sets four and five in closely contested play.
With this loss, Illinois Wesleyan concludes one of its most successful volleyball seasons on record.