KENOSHA, Wis. - Millikin Women's Volleyball was at Carthage College Wednesday night as they faced the Lady Reds at Tarble Arena. The Lady Reds entered the match ranked #3 in the AVCA Coaches' Top 25 Poll and #2 in the NCAA Midwest Region. With Wednesdays victory over the Big Blue, Carthage ended their season 8-0 in CCIW play and were crowned CCIW Champions. 

The Big Blue would start the first set with a kill by freshman middle blocker Jessi Kreder, assisted by Rose Syversen to get on the board first. An attack error by Carthage's Haley Horner would give the Big Blue a 2-0 lead in the set, but the Lady Reds would catch up quickly. The first set saw back and forth scoring for both sides, ending in a 25-22 Carthage win. The Big Blue would record 13 kills on 49 attempts, posting a .122 hitting percentage, while Carthage had a .144 hitting percentage on Millikin. 

The second set saw Carthage defeat Millikin 25-18, giving them a 2-0 lead going into the third. Millikin would have 10 kills on 30 attemps, recording a .133 hitting percentage, while Carthage dominated on offense with a .438 hitting percentage on 16 kills in 32 attemps, recording only two attacking errors.

Carthage would end the match in the third set, winning again with a 25-18 final score to claim the CCIW title, completing their perfect conference record. The Lady Reds continued improving on offense with a .517 hitting percentrage, posting 16 kills on 29 attemps. Defensively, the Lady Reds put up three blocks in the third set on Millikin, including the game-winning point that would be scored on a block by Carthage on Lauren Brummel's attack attempt. 

Leading the match on offense was Carthage's Megan Behrendt, who recorded 14 kills on Millikin, while senior Marissa McElroy tied CCIW Women's Volleyball Player of the Week Lauren Brummel in kills with nine a piece. Ellie LeCount recorded 44 assists for the Lady Reds, followed by Millikin's Rose Syversen who put up 29 of her own. Holding down Carthage's defense at the net was Andrea Kozak, who posted five blocks, and Millikin's Jessi Kreder and Rose Syversen recorded three for the Big Blue. Syversen's three blocks on the night is a season-high for the senior setter. 

With tonight's loss against Carthage and Illinois Wesleyan University's win at Elmhurst, the Big Blue finish third in the CCIW and will host the six seed in the CCIW on Tuesday, November 5 at the Griswold Center.