ELMHURST, Ill. – Carroll University women's volleyball officially punched its ticket to the CCIW Tournament Wednesday night, defeating Elmhurst University in four sets inside R.A. Faganel Hall. The Pioneers earned the conference victory 25-23, 25-21, 20-25, 25-20, extending their winning streak to four matches while improving to 16-10 overall and 5-1 in CCIW play. With the victory, Carroll secured its spot in the conference tournament.
Elmhurst came out strong in the opening set, jumping out to an early 11-7 advantage. Carroll responded with four consecutive points, including three straight service aces from Carly Hicklin, to even the score at 11. The Pioneers continued to build momentum, taking a 16-13 lead before the Bluejays battled back to even the score at 18. Elmhurst eventually grabbed a 21-20 advantage, but Carroll responded with four consecutive points, highlighted by a Miley Manternach kill, to reach set point at 24-21. The Bluejays cut the deficit to 24-23 before Manternach delivered another kill to secure the 25-23 victory.
The Pioneers carried that momentum into the second set, overcoming an early 5-1 deficit with a five-point run behind the serving of Payton Depies to take an 8-6 lead. Carroll gradually extended its advantage to 15-11 before Elmhurst responded with four consecutive points to even the score at 15. The two teams continued trading points down the stretch, with the Bluejays eventually taking a 19-18 advantage. Carroll responded with a pair of kills from Hicklin to regain control, taking a 22-20 lead before closing the frame on a 3-1 run to secure the 25-21 victory and a 2-0 match lead.
Elmhurst refused to go away in the third set, jumping out to an early 10-3 advantage. The Bluejays continued to build their lead, extending the margin to 20-10 behind a strong offensive performance. Carroll attempted to battle back, rattling off four consecutive points to cut the deficit to 20-14 before eventually trimming the lead to 24-20. However, Elmhurst secured the final point to take the set 25-20 and force a fourth frame.
The fourth set featured another competitive battle, with Elmhurst jumping out to an early 4-0 advantage. Carroll gradually worked its way back, evening the score at seven before taking its first lead at 9-8. The Pioneers continued to build momentum, extending their advantage to 15-10 behind kills from Manternach and Audrey Rosenbaum. Elmhurst battled back, eventually taking a 20-19 lead, but Carroll responded with six consecutive points to close out the match. The decisive run featured kills from Manternach and Lexi Proctor, with Proctor delivering the final kill to secure the 25-20 victory and officially clinch Carroll's spot in the CCIW Tournament.
Carroll finished the night with 46 kills on a .154 hitting percentage while adding 40 assists, 10 service aces, 62 digs and eight total blocks. The Pioneers held Elmhurst to a .000 hitting percentage in the decisive fourth set.
Hicklin led the Pioneer offense with a team-high 16 kills, adding nine digs and a match-high four service aces. Manternach followed with eight kills on an impressive .429 hitting percentage, committing just two attack errors on 14 attempts while adding three block assists. Rosenbaum contributed eight kills, five digs and three block assists, while Proctor added eight kills, 13 assists and a team-high 11 digs. Depies led Carroll with 21 assists, adding 10 digs and three service aces. Kylie Wittnebel anchored the Pioneers' defense at the net with two solo blocks and three block assists, while Samantha Miserendino contributed 10 digs.
The Pioneers return to action on Saturday, October 31, when they travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin, to face Carthage College in another CCIW matchup. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. inside Tarble Arena.
