Millikin Athletics

Decatur, IL— Millikin University women's volleyball earned a must-win Wednesday evening in a matchup with North Park University for a Collegiate Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin contest. The Big Blue and Vikings went to an extended five-set match to create a memorable night of great competition in Griswold Center (19-25, 25-18, 25-12, 20-25, and 15-9). 

The Vikings were able to conquer set one with three services aces, ten kills on ten assists, and two team blocks. The Big Blue only hit at a .121 efficiency with six errors, which was not enough. 

Shutting NPU down, Millikin flipped the script to out-kill the Vikings with 16 kills and four service aces after trailing 2-8 in the beginning of the set. Nikkel Johnson fired up the gym with a perfect five kills on five attempts with zero errors with two block assists. Elle Richards joined her with four kills on .571 hitting to help take set two. 

Everything was in favor of the Big Blue as they were able to rally another four service aces and 11 digs in set three to hold the Vikings under 15 points by the end of the third set; making it difficult for them to run offense and score at the net. 

After eight ties and four lead changes in set four, North Park left their mark at the net with four team blocks to force Millikin into nine hitting errors and .000 hitting while only putting up nine kills. The Big Blue were still able to pick up 23 digs in the back court through long rallies to give themselves a standing chance at closing the match. 

A loud crowd and two rowdy benches filled Griswold with echoing noise as set five began. The Big Blue went on a 3-0 to start out, followed by a Viking timeout. Johnson continued the run with a solo block and three back-to-back kills. With the Richards kill on match point, Millikin took it all to grab a spot in the CCIW tournament. 

Offensively, Richards led both teams with 15 kills and five blocks, joined by Maggye Smith with 11, Kyra Carothers ten, and Johnson nine with a match-high seven blocks for 13.0 total points. Alyssa Frederking distributed the offense well with a total of 28 assists and Haylee Porter 18. In the back row, libero Francesca Brandonisio finished with 23 digs and Thayleah Hall ten. 

The Big Blue move to .500 with records of 14-14 overall and 4-4 in CCIW play. Millikin will finish the regular season with a trip to DePauw University to face off with the DePauw Tigers and the Bears of Washington University of St. Louis on Saturday November 7 at 11am ET and 1pm ET.