Women's Volleyball Win
3
Winner Millikin MIL-U 6-1,1-0 CCIW
1
Carthage CARTH 6-4,0-1 CCIW
Winner
Millikin MIL-U
6-1,1-0 CCIW
3
Final
1
Carthage CARTH
6-4,0-1 CCIW
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Millikin MIL-U 25 15 25 25 (3)
Carthage CARTH 23 25 14 18 (1)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | Morgan Vogels

Big Blue Women's Volleyball Downs #15 Carthage

The #17 Big Blue women's volleyball team traveled to Kenosha, Wis. to match up against College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin foe Carthage College on Wednesday, September 15. The fifteenth ranked Firebirds were picked in the preseason poll to finish atop the CCIW standings.

Millikin defeated Carthage 3-1 to move to 1-0 in the CCIW, 6-1 overall. The Big Blue attack was led by Tori Stuart, who finished the match with 17 kills. Kamryn Flesner added 13. Olivia Grbavac notched 32 assists, along with two service aces. Julianna Vassallo tallied 22 digs, and Kailee Itzenhuiser added 15. 

Carthage's Liv Carel led the Firebirds in kills with 10. 

Millikin started off strong, taking the first set by a 25-23 margin. After falling behind 1-4 with Megan Dawrant behind the service line for the Firebirds, the Big Blue rallied back to take a 6-5 lead. After another short Carthage run, MU found themselves down 8-12 before a service ace off the hand of Grbavac, two kills from Stuart, and one kill from freshman Sophia Gibbs tied the set at 12. In a set that was tightly contested until the final point, Millikin fell behind 22-23 before a 3-0 run capped off the win. 

Carthage once again was off to a hot start in the second set, starting off the match with a score of 1-4. A 5-0 run from Carthage with Dawrant serving put the Firebirds up 7-16. MU chipped away at the Firebird lead to come within five with freshman Anna Deutschmann serving, bringing the score to 14-19. Carthage secured the 15-25 second set victory on a 4-0 run with Nicole Acton delivering a service ace for the final point. 

The Big Blue bounced back quickly to take a 4-0 lead to begin the third set. Carthage clawed their way back into it until a short run with Itzehuiser serving gave Millikin a 13-5 lead. MU pushed their lead to 10 points on a kill from Lauren Brummel, putting the score at 18-8, and the Big Blue capped off a 25-14 set victory to pull ahead 2-1 in the match. 

Millikin took the lead quickly in the fourth and final set and never looked back. An Itzenhuiser service ace put the Big Blue up 5-2, and back-to-back kills from Jessi Kreder and Flesner gave MU a 7-2 lead. Carthage rallied late in the set to pull within two points on two occasions, but a block from Kreder and Grbavac on an attack by the Firebirds' Kaitie Rohe gave Millikin a 22-17 advantage. The final set ended with a 25-18 Big Blue victory. 

Millikin will hit the court in the Griswold Center in Decatur, Ill. for the first time in the 2021 season on Friday, September 17 for the Millikin Invitational. The nine-team tournament holds four game opportunities for the Big Blue. MU will match up against Webster University at 3:30 pm for their first home match of the season. 
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