bloomington, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University volleyball standouts Maya French and Alex Bardouniotis have been recognized as AVCA All-Americans, the association announced Monday. French earned First Team honors, while Bardouniotis was named an Honorable Mention.
French becomes only the second Titan in program history to achieve All-American status in all four seasons, joining current assistant coach Tyler White (nee Brown). This caps a historic career for French,who previously earned Third Team (2022),second Team (2023),and Honorable Mention (2024) accolades. The senior rewrote the IWU record book, finishing as the programS all-time leader in kills (1919), aces (286), and points (2278.5). This season, she led the Titans with 449 kills (4.16 per set),ranking 22nd nationally,and 77 aces (0.71 per set), ninth-most in Division III. She also contributed 325 digs, 27 blocks, and 16 assists.French was a five-time CCIW Hitter of the Week and earned CCIW Offensive Player of the Year honors for the third consecutive season, along with three AVCA national Player of the Week awards.
Bardouniotis secured her first All-American honor following a standout sophomore season.She finished second on the team with 327 kills (3.03 per set) and 334 digs (3.09 per set), adding 51 aces and 29 blocks. Bardouniotis was a First Team All-CCIW selection and twice named CCIW Hitter of the week. Both French and Bardouniotis were named to the NCAA Bloomington Regional all-tournament team.
The duo spearheaded a record-breaking season for Illinois Wesleyan, which finished with a 28-3 record – the most wins under head coach kim Nelson-Brown and the most since 1989. The Titans reached a program-best No. 2 national ranking, made their second consecutive NCAA Regional Championship appearance (and third all-time), and dominated the CCIW, winning both the regular season and tournament championships – the first Titan squad to achieve back-to-back crowns. IWU lost only two sets to conference opponents all season.
