Women’s Volleyball Upsets No. 15 Millikin

CHICAGO, Ill. – The CUW women's volleyball team knocked off the 15^th-ranked team in NCAA Division III with a 3-2 victory over Millikin on Saturday evening. The Falcons picked up a 15-25, 25-22,19-25-25-23,15-11 victory to hand the Big Blue their first loss of the season in five sets.

The Falcons reached double-digit kills in all five sets in the victory.

CUW trailed late in the fourth set but flexed their muscles to close the set on a 7-4 run to force a fifth set. Junior Jenna Chaussee (Chilton, Wis.) finished the set with a kill off a pass from senior Erika Christiansen (Morton Grove, Ill.).

Millikin jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the fifth set. The Falcons regained the lead behind the serve of Erika Christiansen to take an 8-6 lead.

Junior Hannah Himmelman (Geneseo, Ill.) clinched the victory with a kill at 15-11.

The Blue and White hit a blistering .409 in the fifth set.

Jenna Chaussee, senior Sophia Collins (Lake Mills, Wis.) and sophomore Maycee Karpfinger (Wauwatosa, Wis.) all had 13 kills in the victory, Karpfinger shined with a .526 hitting percentage against Millikin.

Senior Makenzie Vertz (Geneseo, Ill.) led the flock with 33 assists, Erika Christiansen netted a career-high 20 assists.

The CUW defense was not letting balls drop on Sunday and picked up an astonishing 87 digs. Senior Madelyn Alton (Farwell, Minn.) led the way with 23, while Jenna Chaussee had 18, Senior Annie Marie Olszowka (Bolingbrook, Ill.) had 12 and senior Makenzie Vertz (Mukwonago, Wis.) added 11.

CUW also hosted a block party with 14 blocks. Maycee Karpfinger was a part of 10 blocks.

Annie Marie Olszowka and Jenna Chaussee also added two service aces.

This is the first victory for the Falcons against a ranked team since Sept. 15, 2018, at No. 19 Carthage.

CUW returns to action on Sunday against No. 9 Transylvania and No. 16 Chicago.