NAPERVILLE — The CCIW Women’s Volleyball Championship field is down to four after Millikin and Wheaton advanced with quarterfinal wins on Tuesday night. 
 
Millikin rolled past Augustana in straight sets, while Wheaton battled through five to edge Carroll. The third-seeded Big Blue will travel to #2 Carthage, while #4 Wheaton heads to top-seeded Illinois Wesleyan — both semifinal matches set for Thursday at 7 p.m. The two winners on Thursday will square off in Saturday’s championship match.
 
#3 Millikin def. #6 Augustana, 25-20, 25-16, 25-20
Millikin punched its ticket to the semifinals for the 16th consecutive season with a commanding sweep (25-20, 25-16, 25-20) of  Augustana at the Griswold Center. The Big Blue (15-13) controlled the match from start to finish, outpacing the Vikings (14-15) in kills (38-28), blocks (9-4), digs (51-41) and hitting percentage (.240 to .034).
 
After a brief deficit in the opening set, Millikin settled in quickly behind strong play from Alyssa Frederking and Delaney Higgins. The Big Blue surged ahead and used defensive pressure to close out the set 25-20 before cruising through the second, 25-16. 
 
Augustana made its best push in the third set, hitting .226 and leading 14-12 after back-to-back kills by Carmela Carbone. But Millikin responded with a late surge — highlighted by points from Kylie Ramirez and a block from Carothers and Addison Oyer — to seal the 25-20 win and the sweep.
 
Higgins powered the offense with a match-high 16 kills and 20.5 points, while Carothers led the front line with six blocks.
 
#4 Wheaton def. #5 Carroll, 21-25, 25-15, 26-24, 23-25, 15-11
Fourth-seeded Wheaton outlasted No. 5 Carroll in a five-set battle (21-25, 25-15, 26-24, 23-25, 15-11) at King Arena. The win marked Wheaton’s first CCIW Tournament victory since 2012.
 
Carroll opened strong, hitting .324 in the first set behind Bronwyn Rowse and setter Payton Depies to claim a 25-21 decision. Wheaton responded decisively in the second, rolling to a 25-15 win with a .300 hitting mark and a late surge fueled by kills from Katherine Adkison and Jordan Benford. The third set was the tightest of the match, with the Thunder edging Carroll 26-24. Carroll forced a fifth set by taking the fourth, 25-23.
 
The decisive fifth set belonged to Wheaton, which hit .474 and controlled the tempo from the start. Benford delivered a kill and an ace to help build a 7-4 lead, and Mary Hamann’s late kill pushed the Thunder to match point before a Carroll setting error ended it, 15-11.
 
Benford led all players with 19 kills and 21 points, while setter Lacey Higgins tallied 57 assists. Rowse paced Carroll with 17 kills and 23 points in the defeat.