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 competition in Griswold Center (19-25, 25-18, 25-12, 20-25, 15-9).
The Vikings were able to take set one with three service aces, 10 kills on 10 assists, and two team blocks. The Big Blue hit at a .121 efficiency with six errors, which was not enough.
Shutting North Park down, Millikin flipped the script to outkill the Vikings with 16 kills and four service aces after trailing 2-8 at the beginning of the set. Nikkel Johnson fired up the gym with a perfect five kills on five attempts with zero errors and two block assists. Elle Richards joined her with four kills on .571 hitting to help take set two.
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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 its mark at the net with four team blocks to force Millikin into nine hitting errors and .000 hitting while putting up nine kills. The Big Blue still picked 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 run to start, followed by a Viking timeout. Johnson continued the run with a solo block and three consecutive 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 with 10, and Johnson with nine and a match-high seven blocks for 13.0 total points. Alyssa Frederking distributed the offense with a total of 28 assists and Haylee Porter added 18. In the back row, libero Francesca Brandonisio finished with 23 digs and Thayleah Hall added 10.
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 the DePauw Tigers and the Bears of Washington University of St. Louis on Saturday, November 7, at 11 a.m. ET and 1 p.m. ET.
