AJE Photography 2026

Women’s Volleyball Sets Sight on Stevens Point

Titans face UWSP Friday, Lawrence & UWO Saturday

10/15/2026 10:00:00 AM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - A three match weekend awaits the No. 1 Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team as it heads to Stevens Point, Wis. for the Polito's Invite, Friday-Saturday, Oct. 16-17, hosted by University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The Green and White take on UWSP Friday at 7 p.m. before rising early Saturday morning to challenge Lawrence University at 10:30 a.m. and No. 2 University Wisconsin-Oshkosh at 12:30 p.m.

Illinois Wesleyan strolls into the weekend with a 17-1 record (6-0 CCIW), riding a 10-match win streak. The Green and White dip out of College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play after six straight league games. With a tournament heavy schedule, Illinois Wesleyan partakes in its fourth-of-five tournaments of the season in Stevens Point. Earlier this week, IWU swept North Park and swept four consecutive matches.

Statistically, the Green and White rank fourth in the country in kills per set at 13.57 and 12th in assists per set with 12.33. Junior Alex Bardouniotis (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) leads the attack with 3.45 kills per set and 4.13 points per set. Bardouniotis is joined by sophomore Carly Whitaker (Morton, Ill.-Morton) on the attack with 2.55 kills per set and 163 kills.

Setting the scene for the offense, senior Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) has 378 assists for 5.64 per set. Feeney has registered 11 matches of 20+ assists this season. Supporting Feeney has been sophomore Lauren O'Brien (Bloomington, Ill.-Cantral Catholic) with 4.75 assists per set and 280 helpers total.

On the defensive side of the ball, junior Alysa Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) sits at 21st nationally with 5.48 digs per set. Lawton's claimed 367 digs with Bardouniotis following her at 210. Senior Eleanor Palmer's (Chicago Ill.-DePaul College Prep) big night against the Vikings boosted her stats to 1.78 kills per set with 119 strikes. The senior has held it down at the net with 51 blocks, trailing just junior Juliana Valdez (Palos Heights, Ill.-Marist) with 57.

Illinois Wesleyan begins the tournament with the Pointers, who are meeting for the sixth time in as many years. Members of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, UWSP holds a five-match win streak and a 12-9 overall mark this season. UWSP holds a 9-6 advantage over the IWU since 1997. After losing the first match, IWU won back-to-back contests at the turn of the century but the Pointers took six straight matches to push its lead. UWSP and IWU have traded wins the past four years with IWU victorious in 2025 and 2023. A season ago, Illinois Wesleyan snagged a 3-0 win over the Pointers at the Blugolds Alumni Weekend Invitational in Eau Claire, Wis.

Saturday morning marks the first match between Lawrence and Illinois Wesleyan in program history. LU is riding an eight-match win streak to surge its overall record to 14-6. The two have a few common opponents this season as Lawrence defeated UW-Whitewater but suffered losses to Dubuque, and Wartburg, all who Illinois Wesleyan has defeated.

The match of the weekend comes in the final contest for IWU as it takes on UW-Oshkosh. UWO enters the weekend with a 20-2 record with one ranked win. The pair of losses came at the hands of No. 7 Juniata and Hope. The second-ranked UWO commands a 19-5 advantage since 1994 over Illinois Wesleyan. UW-Oshkosh won 15-of-16 matches to begin the series but since 2017, the two are tied with three wins apiece. In a highly touted matchup last season, IWU swept then third-ranked UWO behind a monster night from Taylor French. In the three set match, Feeney dished out a match-best 24 assists while O'Brien followed with 14. Following the loss, UW-Oshkosh ran the tables the rest of the season as it did not drop a set en route to a national championship.

Action from Stevens Point begins Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. when Illinois Wesleyan meets UWSP. Saturday sees IWU and Lawrence start at 10:30 a.m. before setting up a one-two contest and a battle of the Titans with Illinois Wesleyan and UW-Oshkosh at 12:30 p.m. Coverage of the tournament, including live stats and live streams, can be found on iwusports.com.

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