DECATUR, Ill. - The Elmhurst volleyball team knocked off top-seeded Millikin University 25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 31-29 to advance to the championship match of the CCIW Tournament. 

Seeded fourth in the tournament, Elmhurst upped its record to 24-10 overall with the victory and will face 15th-ranked Carthage College in tomorrow's championship contest. 

Elmhurst, ranked 17th in the latest AVCA Division III national poll, started quickly in the opening set, grabbing a quick 3-2 lead and never looking back. The Bluejays opened up a 12-6 cushion and never let Millikin come any closer than two points for the duration of the set. A kill from Alli Rogers sealed the opening set for the Bluejays at 25-21.

Millikin (23-13) raced out to 5-1 lead in the second set before Elmhurst battled back with an 11-3 run to take a 12-8 lead. The Big Blue pulled even at 15-15 with a 7-3 run and then used a 9-3 run to surge in front 24-18. The Bluejays fought off four set points to close to within two points before a Kelsey Talkington kill gave the set to Millikin at 25-22. 

Millikin kept up its momentum to start the third set, building a 15-11 lead. Elmhurst surged back, ripping off six straight points to pull in front at 16-15. Millikin pulled even at 17-all, but the Bluejays closed out the set with an 8-2 run. A Mary Lawrence kill handed the Bluejays the set 25-19 to give the Bluejays a 2-1 lead. 

Elmhurst started strong in the fourth set, grabbing a 15-10 lead. The Bluejays pushed held a four-point cushion at 21-17 before Millikin responded with a 6-2 run to pull even at 23-23. A kill from Rogers gave the Bluejays a match point at 24-23, but Millikin scored two straight points to take a set point. The Bluejays pulled even at 25-all after a kill from Hannah Nimrick. The two teams traded points for the next eight points. Elmhurst had two additional match points but could not close out the Big Blue while Millikin had two additional set points but failed to put away the Bluejays. Millikin led 29-28 and was serving for the match, but a kill from Jamie Vargo evened the score at 29-29. After a Millikin error, Vargo put the match away with a kill for the Bluejays.

Elmhurst hit .179 for the contest with 49 kills and 22 errors in 151 swings. The Bluejays turned in a strong performance at the net with 12 blocks.

Rogers paced Elmhurst's attack with 13 kills while also adding 13 digs. Lawrence reached double figures in kills with 10 while also registering seven blocks. Vargo added eight kills and matched Lawrence's team-high in blocks with seven. Nimrick totaled a team-leading 29 assists to go with seven kills and nine digs. Amy Schryver led the squad in digs with 19 while Peggy Clemens chipped in with 10. 

Millikin hit just .040 for the contest with 46 kills and 39 errors in 174 attacks. Erin Syverson led the Big Blue with 14 kills and 11 digs in the loss. Melissa Hanika added 11 kills while Cortney Bohn and Talkington finished with seven kills apiece. Emily Mihalkanin added 32 assists while Cassidy Kingery tallied 17 digs.

Elmhurst and Carthage will face each other tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. for the CCIW Tournament title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The two squads met in the regular season finale on Tuesday night with Carthage coming out on top in four sets. The two squads will face each other in the CCIW Tournament final for the third team since the league established its new format in 2004. Elmhurst downed Carthage in 2005 while the Lady Reds toppled the Bluejays in the 2011 Tournament Championship.