MEQUON, Wis. – Millikin Men's Volleyball wrapped up their weekend in Mequon, Wisconsin on Saturday as they competed in the second day of the Concordia Invite hosted by Concordia University – Wisconsin. The Big Blue would end the weekend 0-3 after falling in both matches on the day.

Millikin would take on the Olivet College Comets in their first match and would win the first set with a final score of 25-21. The Big Blue led the entirety of the first set, going on six multi-point scoring runs, scoring more than three points on three occasions.

Olivet would bounce back in the second set of the match, taking an early 7-2 lead on Millikin. The Big Blue would score four in a row shortly after, bringing the score to 11-10. That would be the closest Millikin would be to taking the lead in the set, but would be edged by the Comets 25-20.

The third set saw Millikin stay within two points of Olivet until the middle of the set when a three-point scoring run would give the Big Blue a 14-13 lead. The game would be neck-and-neck for the remainder of the set with the score tying five times before Olivet pulled away to win 25-21.

In the fourth set of the match, Millikin would strike first but would be stopped by Olivet, who went on a seven-point run to go ahead 10-3. Millikin would later come back from a 20-13 deficit, scoring four straight to come within three of the Comets but the effort would fall short as Olivet would score four right back and end the game at 25-18. Olivet would defeat Millikin 3-1.

Freshman Colby Campbell was a strong defensive presence for Millikin with a game-leading five blocks in the match. Jose Gallardo led the Big Blue on offense with 10 kills with Scotch Plains, New Jersey native Peter Sailsman recording nine of his own.
 
To close out their weekend at the Corcordia Invite, the Big Blue would face Maranatha Baptist University. Millikin would take it to five sets with the Sabercats but would be topped 3-2.

In the first set of the match, Millikin would score twice to start the match. The game would tie eight times in total before Maranatha Baptist would go ahead late in the set, scoring twice to make it 22-20. The Sabercats would close out the set on a three point run, winning 25-21.

Millikin would come back in the second set, tying the game at 1-1 with a 25-23 victory. The set saw more of the same back and forth scoring early on until a four point scoring run gave Millikin a 10-8 edge on Maranatha Baptist. The Big Blue would only be behind once more in the remainder of the set but would hold on to the lead to take the set.
The third set saw Millikin go on seven multi-point scoring runs, scoring four straight to overcome a 9-7 deficit early. Later in the game, the score would tie five times before Millikin scored three straight to end the set at 27-25, going into the fourth set with a 2-1 advantage on the Sabercats.

Maranatha Baptist would force the match into a fifth set after taking the fourth set from the Big Blue, winning 25-17. The Sabercats recorded two or more points in a row seven
times in the set, pulling away from Millikin with a seven point run late in the set.

Millikin did not trail in the fifth set until Maranatha Baptist put six points on the board to go ahead 10-6. The Big Blue would take three points back to come within one before going on a four point run to take the lead again at 13-11. The Sabercats would close the door on the match by scoring four more of their own to win 15-13, winning the match with a 3-2 final score.

Robbie Maida, a freshman setter from Lockport, Illinois, led Millikin with 49 assists, tying Maranatha Baptist's Taylor Dafoe for the most assists in the match. Libero Willie Valentine had a match high 29 digs for Millikin, while Peter Sailsman led the defense with four blocks at the net. Kyle Clendenen led the charge on offense with 13 kills while Jose Gallardo posted 12 of his own. 

The Big Blue return home on Tuesday, February 4 as they host the Rockford University Regents at the Griswold Center for the first home men's volleyball match in Millikin University history. The game is slated to start at 7:00 PM in Decatur, Illinois.