ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst volleyball team opened the CCIW portion of its schedule by slipping past Carroll University in five sets.
 
Elmhurst toppled the Pioneers 18-25, 25-20, 25-12, 17-25, 18-16 to snap a six game skid. The Bluejays improved to 4-7 on the season and 1-0 in league play with the win.
 
Carroll (6-8, 0-1 CCIW) took the opening set 25-18 after turning a one-point lead at 10-9 into a five-point cushion at 16-11. Elmhurst came as close as two points at 19-17, but the Pioneers finished the set on a 6-1 run to take the first set.
 
Elmhurst fell behind 12-9 in the second set before the Bluejays used a 10-2 run to surge in front at 19-14. Carroll came no closer than a four points as Elmhurst finished off the set with a Hannah Davis kill.
 
Elmhurst continued its momentum in the third set, racing out to a 7-3 lead after the first 10 points. Leading 10-5, Elmhurst rattled of a 14-3 run to build a 24-8 lead before putting the set away at 25-12.

The Pioneers turned the table in the fourth, scoring seven of the first 10 points and forcing Elmhurst to burn a timeout. Carroll continued to add to its lead, building an eight-point cushion at 17-9 leading to the Bluejays' second timeout of the set. Elmhurst came as close as six points at 23-17, but Carroll won the final two points to force a decisive fifth set.
 
Elmhurst fell behind by two points at 6-4 in the fifth, but the Bluejays used a 4-1 run over the next five points to take an 8-7 lead at the side change. The Bluejays built a two-point cushion at 10-8 forcing Carroll to take a timeout. Carroll used a 4-2 run to level the score at 12-12 leading to an Elmhurst timeout. The Bluejays trailed at 13-12 and again at 14-13, but a kill from Davis fought off the match point for the Pioneers. Cyle Harrison followed with a kill to give the Bluejays a match point at 15-14. Carroll fought off two match points before Mel Lundin smashed the game-winning kill for the Bluejays.
 
Elmhurst hit .147 for the match with 60 kills and 32 errors in 190 attempts. Davis and Kelly Townsend both recorded double-doubles in the victory. Davis pounded down a career-best 25 kills while totaling 10 digs and hitting a team-best .306 for the contest. Townsend registered a career-high 52 assists to go with 10 digs and three kills. Lundin finished with 12 kills and a .216 hitting percentage while Bailey Brouwer added eight kills and three blocks for Elmhurst. Harrison tallied six kills while Allie Skowron tallied four kills and a team-best four blocks. Amy Schryver and Rachel Shuty combined for 50 digs with Schryver totaling 26 and Shuty finishing with 24.
 
Carroll hit .099 for the match with 44 kills and 26 errors in 181 attempts. Dana Voltolina led the way with 10 kills while Cassidy Mrotek and Karley Wolf totaled eight apiece. Amanda Hahn registered a match-high 37 digs in the loss.
 
Elmhurst plays at the CCIW/WIAC crossover at North Central College on Friday, September 22.