Robbie Maida
Kevin Krows/Millikin University
2
Millikin MIL-U 0-13,0-12 CCIW
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 3-14,2-10 CCIW
Millikin MIL-U
0-13,0-12 CCIW
2
Final
3
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
3-14,2-10 CCIW
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Millikin MIL-U 18 25 19 28 11 (2)
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 21 25 26 15 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball | | Morgan Vogels

Men's Volleyball Takes Two from Titans in Final Match of Season

The Millikin men's volleyball team matched up against the Titans of Illinois Wesleyan in their final match of the 2021 season at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Ill. Though the Big Blue took two sets in the match, they fell 2-3 to the Titans. 

For Millikin, Jose Gallardo led the attack at the net with 18 kills. Jakob Henderson added 14, and Peter Sailsman chipped in 10. Robbie Maida added 44 more assists to his season totals throughout the five sets along with two service aces. Fred Halper led the Big Blue with 12 digs, and Maida added 10. Colby Campbell and Sailsman dominated the net, each tallying seven blocks. 

KJ Johnson was the attacking leader for Illinois Wesleyan with 12, and Michael Eastman added 11. 

In the first set, the Big Blue were tightly matched with the Titans, seeing four knotted scores before the Titans rode a 3-0 run to take an 11-14 lead. Millikin rallied back with a kill by Henderson, but the Titans secured the 18-25 victory in the first set. 

The second set began with back to back kills by Sailsman and Henderson to put the Big Blue up 2-1. In a set that was tied at 11 different times, a short run with Maida behind the service line helped MU to pull ahead and claim the second set. Millikin came away with the 25-21 second set victory, sealed with a kill by Chelan Beavers. 

Set three went back in the Titan's favor. The Big Blue started off the set on a 5-0 run, highlighted by a service ace from Gallardo and a block on an attack by Freddy Gamarra by Sailsman and Beavers. Wesleyan quickly chipped away at the lead with two short runs of their own to pull within 5-6. After the Titans pulled ahead, kills by Beavers and Campbell evened the score at 14-14. With the score at 18-19, Wesleyan's Bradly Benson served up an ace that gave the Titans an 18-22 lead. A kill off the hand of Gallardo extended the Big Blue's chances, but a 3-0 run by the Titans gave them a 19-25 win, and the 1-2 lead. 

Millikin extended the match with a set four victory. They began on a 4-0 run with Maida behind the service line. A service ace, along with kills by Gallardo and Henderson, and a block by Sailsman and Beavers highlighted the run. Wesleyan slowly chipped away, but the Big Blue held the lead for the entirety of the set until the Titans tied things up at 24-24. Millikin went on a 3-0 run to end the set with two kills by Henderson and one by Campbell to give them a 28-26 win in the fourth. 

The fifth set was all Wesleyan. The Titans jumped out to a 3-7 lead over the Big Blue on a kill by Ethan Scott and never looked back. A kill by Peter Sailsman late in the game brought the Big Blue within 11-13, but IWU closed out the set and the match with a kill from Eastman and a service ace by Dominic Bennett.

With the 2-3 loss to Illinois Wesleyan, men's volleyball closed out their 2021 season. 
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