ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst volleyball team came up short in a 25-17, 25-22, 27-25 loss to Millikin University with a share of the CCIW volleyball title on the line.

Millikin (21-11, 5-1 CCIW) clinched a share of the conference title for the first time since the 2010 season with the victory.

Elmhurst (21-9, 4-2 CCIW) and Millikin traded points for the opening of the first set with the score even at 11-11. Millikin took control with an 9-1 run to open up a commanding 20-12 lead before putting the set away at 25-17 on a kill from Erin Syverson. 

Millikin raced out to an early 9-2 lead in the second set before Elmhurst fought its way back, using a 17-10 run to eventually pull even at 19-all. The score was knotted at 22-22, but a pair of kills from Syverson sandwiched around an Elmhurst attack error gave the Big Blue a two-set advantage.

Elmhurst fell behind early in the third set, trailing 9-6, but the the Bluejays answered back, evening the match at 18-18 and then taking a 20-19 lead following a Millikin error. The Big Blue evened the score at 22-22, but a kill from Alli Rogers and a block from Hannah Davis and Mel Lundin gave the Bluejays multiple set points at 24-22. A block and a kill from Alora Goodey pulled Millikin even at 24-24, but the Bluejays gained their third set point at 25-24 after a kill from Davis. A kill from Syverson evened the match at 25-all for Millikin and the Big Blue sealed the match with a kill from Goodey and an error on Elmhurst.

Elmhurst hit .234 for the contest with 40 kills and 15 errors in 107 attempts. Rogers powered the Bluejays offense with 11 kills while Lundin and Hannah Nimrick added seven kills apiece in the loss. Nimrick added 30 assists while Mary Lawrence and Shanon Burns totaled five kills each. Amy Schryver led the squad in digs with 14 while Lundin totaled a team-best four blocks.

Millikin hit .307 for the contest with 53 kils and 18 errors in 114 attempts. The Bluejays could not contain Syverson who finished with a match-high 21 kills while hitting .447. Cortney Bohn added 10 kills while Goodey finished with nine. Emily Mihalkanin tallied 48 assists while Cassidy Kingery added 15 kills.

Elmhurst, ranked 15th in the latest AVCA Division III national poll, can still earn a share of the CCIW title if the Bluejays can defeat Carthage next week and Wheaton can knock off Millikin.

Elmhurst takes on Dominican and Aurora at the Benedictine Invitational on Friday, October 30.