NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The 2026 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Women’s Volleyball Tournament got underway on Tuesday night with a pair of quarterfinal matches in which the higher seeds moved on in four hard-fought sets.
After facing North Central College to finish off CCIW play four nights ago, Elmhurst University was down a set to the Cardinals in one quarterfinal before recovering to take three straight off them. The other quarter featured a battle between Millikin University and Carthage College that was tied at a set apiece until the Big Blue grabbed control of the match to eliminate the Firebirds.
Semifinals are up next as Elmhurst and Millikin now face tough road matches on Thursday night. Elmhurst, the No. 3 seed, will travel to Waukesha, Wis. to take on No. 2 seed Carroll University. Millikin, the No. 4 seed, will make the short drive over to Bloomington, Ill. where No. 1 seed Illinois Wesleyan University awaits. Both semifinal matches will get underway at 7 p.m.
No. 3 Elmhurst 3, No. 6 North Central 1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-22)
On a night in which not much differentiated the two teams offensively, it was the service game of Elmhurst that helped push the Bluejays to the finish line and win their first CCIW Tournament match since 2016.
Freddie Temple had seven of Elmhurst’s 15 aces on the evening and she added a full stat line of 38 assists, six kills, and six digs to go along with it. CCIW Offensive Player of the Year Katie Hurta had a double-double with a team-high 17 kills and 13 digs, while Samantha Webb was just one kill short of getting one herself, finishing with nine kills and a match-best 23 digs.
Down a set and even at 20-20 in the second set, Elmhurst reeled off five of the next six points with a pair of Veronica Curtis aces in that stretch to level the match at 1-1.
The third set was also close down the stretch, but North Central hit a skid at the wrong time and gifted the Bluejays their last five points on NCC attack errors.
In the fourth set, the score was tied at 18-18 before Elmhurst closed another set strong. Paige Belfield had a kill to put the Bluejays ahead before serving consecutive aces. At match point, Temple’s final ace of the night capped off the victory.
For North Central, Abby Buban had a big night with 22 kills, while Ava Hoff chipped in 13 kills and 15 digs. Sarah Harvey also had a double-double with 41 assists and 12 digs.
No. 4 Millikin 3, No. 5 Carthage 1 (27-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-17)
The Millikin defense stepped up with 12 blocks and held a dangerous Carthage team to just a .045 hitting percentage, eliminating last year’s CCIW Tournament runner-up.
Trailing 22-15 in the first set, Millikin stormed back to tie the score at 23-23 thanks in part to three straight kills from Nikkel Johnson. Facing a set point down 25-24, the Big Blue notched three straight to stun Carthage and take a 1-0 lead.
The Firebirds were able to even the match at 1-1 after Millikin gave Carthage four late points on either attack errors or service errors, but the home crowd helped the Big Blue get the momentum back quickly.
Millikin scored the first four points of the third set and though Carthage was able to pull within one on three occasions, the Big Blue never let them pull even. Up 23-22, Maggye Smith had back-to-back kills to give Millikin a 2-1 lead on the night.
The Big Blue had three different 4-0 runs in the fourth set and grew their lead to as much as 11 points in the late going. Though Carthage tried to sneak back into the match, the cushion proved to be too much and Millikin closed the match out with kills from Johnson, Gabriella Ricci, and Kyra Carothers.
Smith and Elle Richards each ended the night with 10 kills apiece for Millikin, while Haylee Porter and Alyssa Frederking had 20 assists each. Johnson led the block part for the Big Blue with six block assists and Francesca Brandonisio recorded 21 digs.
For Carthage, Kristina Manojlovic had a match-high 11 kills and added a team-best 12 digs and four aces. Ava Dettwiler had 16 assists, nine kills, and nine digs.
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.), Carroll University (Waukesha, Wis.), Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, Ill.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill.), Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.), North Central College (Naperville, Ill.), North Park University (Chicago, Ill.) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).