Box Score ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst volleyball team captured its second consecutive CCIW Championship by defeating Millikin University in a four-set battle.

The Bluejays downed the Big Blue by a score of 27-25, 20-25,25-21, 25-22.

Elmhurst, ranked fifth in the latest AVCA Division III poll, improved to 33-4 overall and finished the CCIW season a perfect 7-0 for the second straight season. The conference championship was the 11th earned by the Bluejays, including the eighth under head coach Julie Hall.

All four sets were close, with the Bluejays rallying past Millikin (26-10, 6-1 CCIW) in each set to take the match.

Millikin raced out to a 10-5 lead in the opening set before the Bluejays pulled to within a point at 19-20. Millikin used a 4-2 run to take a 24-21 advantage, but Elmhurst fought off three straight set points thanks to a kill from Marci Novak and a pair of Millikin errors. With the score tied at 24-24, Millikin's Audrey Krajec hammered down a kill to give the Big Blue their fourth set point, put Novak answered back with a kill to knot the score at 25-all. Back-to-back kills from Kaitlyn Wilks gave the Bluejays the opening set 27-25.

With the score even at 11 in the second set, Millikin opened up a 9-2 run to take a 20-13 lead. The Big Blue held off a late charge from Elmhurst to take the set 25-20 and even the match in the process.

Elmhurst jumped out to an ealy 5-2 lead in the third set, but Millikin again surged back to the lead. With the score even at eight, Millikin used a 10-6 run to build an 18-14 lead, forcing Elmhurst to burn a time out. The Blueays came out strong out of the timeout, rattling off four straight points to even the score at 18-18. The two teams traded the next four points to make the score 20-20. A kill by Wilks, a Millikin error and a kill from Hannah Lessen gave Elmhurst a 23-20 cushion. The Big Blue closed to within two points at 23-21, but back-to-back kills from Wilks and Novak gave the Bluejays the third set 25-21.

Milikin grabbed a quick 13-8 lead to start the fourth set and the Big Blue opened up a 19-15 cushion, but Elmhust responded with the next eight points behind Wilks' serve to take a 23-19 lead. Three straight kills from Krajec brought the Big Blue to within a point at 23-22, but kills from Sam Szarmach and Megan Reynolds gave the Bluejays the set and the match.

Elmhurst finished the contest hitting .252 (62-21-163) while Millikin hit .187 (60-26-182). Szarmach powered the Elmhurst attack with a team-leading 15 kills. Reynolds added 12 kills and a team-high five blocks wile Wilks finished with 10 kills and a pair of blocks. Novak added nine kills and 21 digs in the win while Hannah Nimrick totaled eight kills and a team-high 22 assists. Lauren Lorenz added 21 assists while Hannah Lessen totaled 18 digs. Dana Loncar added 15 digs for the Bluejays.

Krajec was a machine for the Big Blue, finishing with 26 kills in 80 attempts. Sara Travis addd 13 kills while Miranda Korte finished with nine. Erika Wilson led Millikin in digs with 21 while Emily Mihalkanin finished with a team-leading 45 assists.

With the win the Bluejays earned the right to host the CCIW Tournament. As the top seed, Elmhurst will face Wheaton College at 7:00 pm on Friday, November 8. Millikin will take on Carthage College in the first semifinal contest, scheduled for 4:30 on Friday. The championship match will begin at 4:30 pm on Saturday, November 9.