BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team closed out College Conference of Illinois Wisconsin play with a gutsy five-set win over Millikin University Friday night, Oct. 28, inside the Shirk Center. The Titans (16-10, 4-4 CCIW) clawed back to win the final two sets, defeating the Big Blue (20-9, 4-4) 15-25, 25-21, 26-28, 29-27, and 15-11, to keep MU from earning a share of the CCIW Regular Season title.

The win came on senior day as IWU celebrated Dana Kiszkowski (Schaumburg, Ill.-Schaumburg), Evy Makris (Orland Park, Ill.-Sandburg), and Ellie Eager (Mendota, Ill.-Marquette Academy) prior to the match. The match also marked the Titans' CCIW regular season finale, securing them the No. 6 seed in next week's conference tournament and a rematch with third-seeded Millikin. 

Illinois Wesleyan used career nights from several players, while the Titans registered a season-high 125 digs as a team. Freshman Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) came two shy of the program record with 42 digs in the win. Junior Faith Washko (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart Griffin) inched ever closer to the 1000-dig mark with 26, while sophomore Abby Erdman (Aurora, Ill.-Metea Valley) tacked on a career-best 21 digs. Junior Courtney Heffren (Eureka, Ill.-Eureka) also finished with double-digits, as she recorded 11.

Adding to the defensive effort was Kiszkowski, who notched a team-best five blocks. Makris tallied four rejections, while junior Taylor Babec (Joliet, Ill.-Plainfield Central) added three.

Kiszkowski and Makris put up strong nights on attack for the Green and White, finishing with 13 and eight kills, respectively. Makris hit .318 for the match, while Kiszkowski posted a .167 clip. French added a team-best 14 kills, while also leading the way with a match-high three aces. Junior Lily Summers (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield North) finished the night with nine kills, including two in the final set.

Erdman and freshman Katie Gund (Pewaukee, Wis.-Pewaukee) distributed the attack. Erdman completed a double-double with 34 assists, one off her career-best, while Gund dished out 19 and also tallied eight digs.

The Green and White compiled a 64-59 lead in kills, and 8-6 edge in aces, and a 125-111 advantage in digs. Millikin hit .159 for the match to IWU's .124 clip, while also recording an 11-7 lead in blocks.

Illinois Wesleyan fell behind early in the opening set, as Millikin managed a 5-1 advantage. A smash from Summers led off a five-point run by the Titans that featured kills by Babec and Kiszkowski, as well as an ace from Washko to charge IWU ahead, 6-5. The Green and White's lead was short lived though, as MU rattled off its own five-point run to regain control, 10-6. The Titans trimmed the Big Blue's advantage to as few as two, but Millikin closed out the set on a 9-1 run to grab a 1-0 lead in the match. 

Illinois Wesleyan came out inspired in the second, using a Makris-Kiszkowski block to take a 4-3 advantage. The Titans never trailed from there, as a Summers kill forced a Big Blue timeout with IWU in front, 16-12. Millikin managed to pull within one late, but kills from Kiszkowski and French lifted IWU to a 25-21 set win, tying the match at one all.

The third set required extra points, as Millikin saw a six-point lead evaporate. Trailing 22-18, Makris tooled a block to get IWU a sideout. Kiszkowski followed with a kill of her own, before junior Maddie Dryfhout (Orland Park, Ill.-Chicago Christian) entered the match and provided a much-needed spark. Dryfhout's first kill of the night pulled Illinois Wesleyan within two, 23-21, and forced a Millikin timeout. Out of the regrouping session, Kiszkowski hammered a kill and Dryfhout capped a gutsy rally with a smash down the line to even the score at 23 all. Babec pushed the Titans to set point twice, but ultimately it was the Big Blue that escaped victorious, 28-26. 

The fourth set proved to be just as tight as the two teams played through nine ties and four lead changes. MU held the upperhand early, but Kim Nelson-Brown called a timeout to get her squad back on track. Dryfhout's kill was followed by a pair from French and an ace by Babec to cut Millikin's advantage to one, 11-10. The Big Blue would up their lead to as many as three, but clutch kills by Kiszkowski and an ace by Gund tied the score at 24-24. 

Holding off match point not once, but four times, French evened the score at 26 with a kill. Erdman's heady play, a kill to the corner on a tight pass, inched IWU ahead, 27-26. Millikin errors pushed Illinois Wesleyan the rest of the way as the Titans took the fourth, 29-27, to force a decisive fifth set.

IWU recorded four of the teams eight aces in the fifth set, including three straight from French to give the Titans a 4-1 cushion. The Big Blue battled back within one with back-to-back points, but Makris smashed an over-pass to keep momentum on the side of the Green and White.

A kill from Eager and an ace by Babec moved IWU ahead by three, 10-7, and brought about a Millikin timeout. The pause in play did little to thwart the determination of the Titans as a kill from Kiszkowski got the crowd fired up. The clutch play forced Millikin to burn its final timeout with Illinois Wesleyan leading, 13-9. 

Makris and Summers combined for a block, setting the table for a match-ending kill from Summers as IWU took the fifth set, 15-11.

Illinois Wesleyan will wrap up the regular season tomorrow, Oct. 29, with two matches as part of the IWU Classic III. The Titans will tangle with St. Norbert College at 11 a.m. before battling ninth-ranked Wittenberg University at 2 p.m.