Deutschmann, Anna
Kevin Krows Sports Photography
2
North Central (IL) NCC 7-8,2-4 CCIW
3
Winner Millikin MIL-U 17-7,4-3 CCIW
North Central (IL) NCC
7-8,2-4 CCIW
2
Final
3
Millikin MIL-U
17-7,4-3 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
North Central (IL) NCC 20 28 21 27 9 (2)
Millikin MIL-U 25 26 25 25 15 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | Morgan Vogels

Big Blue Women's Volleyball Victorious in Five Set Battle with North Central

The Big Blue women's volleyball team took to their home court in the Griswold Center for the final time in the 2021 regular season on Wednesday, October 20 against North Central. The Cardinals took the battle to a fifth set, but Millikin proved victorious 3-2 to improve to 17-7 on the season, 4-3 in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin. 

The outside hitters were the offensive fuel for the Big Blue, with Tori Stuart tallying 17 kills and Kamryn Flesner not far behind with 16. Lauren Brummel added 12 as the Big Blue outkilled the Cardinals 59-43. Reece Brown topped two categories with 44 assists and five service aces. Anna Deutschmann pitched in five aces as well. Jessi Kreder continued her dominance at the net with six total blocks during the five sets. Julianna Vassallo led the Big Blue in digs with 15. 

For the Cardinals, Isabelle Guerrero was the kills leader with 11, and Kaitlyn Boelter-Eberhardt tallied nine. 

The Big Blue jumped out to a fast start, taking a 7-2 lead quickly in the first set on a 5-0 run with Stuart serving. All five points ended in kills for Millikin, with two off the hand of Brummel, back-to-back kills by Sophia Gibbs, and one from Flesner. The Cardinals tightened things up with a late-set rally, using a 4-0 run to pull the score to 19-18. Millikin responded with a 3-0 run hightlighted by a service ace by Deutschmann. A kill by Deutschmann and a Cardinal attacking error rounded out the set, giving MU the 25-20 victory. 

The second set provided a different story with 10 tie scores. The only lead change of the match was for North Central to take the 28-26 win. After trading points early, kills by Brown and Gibbs gave Millikin the 10-7 advantage. The Big Blue lengthened the spread to 15-9 on another 3-0 run that included a service ace by Stuart. North Central answered with a run of their own to pull within one, including back-to-back service aces by Katie Little. A block by Stuart and Kreder helped put the Big Blue back in control at 19-17, but North Central answered once more to knot the score at 19 apiece. A late-game 3-0 run with Stuart behind the line put the set at set point, but the Cardinals rallied again to tie the score. Three straight Millikin mistakes to end the set helped the Cardinals to a 28-26 win. 

To open set three, Gibbs and Brummel teamed up for two blocks and helped give MU a 4-1 advantage. The Cardinals went on a 5-0 run to pull ahead 7-6. Millikin's Deutschmann served five in a row, ending the run with two straight kills off the hand of Flesner to take a 12-7 lead. The Big Blue used a late service ace by freshman Kailee Itzenhuiser to take the set to set point, then finished the 25-21 set victory out on a block by Kreder and Brown. 

North Central's Emily Stallmann served for an ace early in the fourth set to give NCC a 5-2 lead. The Big Blue tied the set at six apiece with a kill by Flesner, then North Central regained control. Millikin tied the set at 24-24 with a service ace by Flesner, but the Cardinals hung on and used a service ace by Emma Happ to end their 27-25 set victory to force a fifth set. 

In the fifth set, Millikin capitalized on Cardinal errors to hang on and take the match. Two straight NCC errors broke the 2-2 tie to give MU a 4-2 lead. A block by Kreder and Brummel helped push the Big Blue lead to five, then a service ace off the hand of Sophie Howell pushed the lead to 10-4. The Cardinals fought back late, but a kill by Stuart and a service ace off the hand of Brown ended the match with a 15-9 final set victory for the Big Blue. 

Millikin will take a short hiatus from conference play to participate in the Midwest Invitational at Calvin College where they will face three ranked opponents in #4 Hope College, #14 Ohio Northern University, and the hosts, #6 Calvin College on Friday, October 22 and Saturday, October 23. 


 
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