DECATUR, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team took on College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin opponent No. 20 Millikin University Friday, Oct. 1 inside the Griswold Center. The Green and White defeated the Big Blue in straight sets to bring its record back to the .500 mark at 9-9, while boosting the teams CCIW record to 3-1. With the loss, Millikin's record stands at 11-5 (2-1 CCIW).

IWU saw an early 10-3 deficit in the opening set. Illinois Wesleyan rallied to land three straight points by two Big Blue errors and a kill by freshman Morgan Harrington (Plainfield, Ill. - Plainfield East) that was assisted by fellow freshman Ava Porada (Frankfort, Ill. - Lincoln-Way East) to bring the score to 10-6, in favor of Millikin. After back-and-forth action, the Titans evened the score at 18 apiece thanks to a Millikin attack error. With the Big Blue facing set point at 26-25, IWU rattled off three in a row to grab the opening set (28-26) in dramatic fashion via three straight errors from the Big Blue. 

The Titans earned the first point of the second set from senior Courtney McAuliffe's (Lemont, Ill. - Lemont) kill. The Green and White never relinquished the lead from this point on. A steady diet of kills welcomed a 23-12 Titan lead that ended with a service ace from senior Madi Corey (Frankfort, Ill. - Lincoln-Way East) and a kill from McAuliffe to win the set 25-12 and to take a 2-0 lead. 

With IWU looking for the sweep, the Big Blue possessed a 3-2 lead early in the third. IWU went on an aggressive nine point run highlighted by two straight kills from senior Jessica McCall (Wayne, Ill. - Wheaton St. Francis) to give the Green and White a 10-3 lead. The Titans never looked backed and eventually won the third set 25-19 that featured a match solidifying kill from senior Dana Kiszkowski (Schaumburg, Ill. - Schaumburg).

McAuliffe powered the Titans' offensive attack with her match leading 11 kills to equate to a staggering .500 hitting percentage. She also added three blocks. McCall and Kiszowski accumulated 10 and six kills, respectively. For the match, IWU produced a .219 hitting percentage. 

Corey led the charge with her match leading 18 assists. Porada added 13 assists of her own as sophomore Faith Washko (Springfield, Ill. - Sacred Heart-Griffin) notched four assists.

Washko's defensive that featured 15 digs only allowed the Big Blue to muster a .028 kill percentage for the match. Corey and McCall notched 10 and seven digs, respectively. 

Corey, senior Riley Cross (Arlington Heights, Ill. - Buffalo Grove), and junior Grace Sanders (Bloomington, Ill - Bloomington) each had one service ace. 

As a result, the Titans saw an edge in most statistical categories for the evening. IWU welcomed an advantage in kills (41-26), assists (36-24), and digs (49-38). 

The Green and White return home to the Shirk Center to clash with CCIW opponent North Central College Wednesday, Oct. 6. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.