IWU volleyball goes 1-1 on first day of tourney

ST. LOUIS -- The Illinois Wesleyan volleyball team battled its way through injuries and illness to pick up a win and a loss at the Washington (Mo.) Midwest Invitational Friday.

Madonna University (Mich.) defeated the Titans 10-15, 15-6, 15-6, 15-5. IWU bounced back to beat Thomas More 15-11, 10-15, 15-12, 14-16, 16-14.

"We've had some illness and injuries," IWU coach Kim Nelson-Brown said. "We lost three kids in the last 24 hours -- two to injury and one to mono. That makes it tough because we had to move and mix things around."

Amy Gregory and Kara Swigart paced the Titans in the first match with eight kills each.

Swigart had 20 kills in the second match. Beth Crowley stepped up with 18 kills, while Gregory also added 18.