GREENVILLE, Ill. — The Greenville University women's volleyball team survived a dramatic five-set battle Wednesday night, defeating Millikin University 25-19, 25-19, 22-25, 8-25, 15-11 at H.J. Long Gymnasium.
The Panthers (5-3) built a two-set lead before Millikin (5-4) stormed back to even the match, setting up a winner-take-all fifth set. Greenville responded by hitting .385 in the decisive frame and closed out the victory behind a balanced offensive attack.
Sierrah Downey led Greenville with 19 kills and a .394 hitting percentage.
Kennedy Legendre added nine kills and four block assists, while
Makenna Reckling recorded seven kills and hit .538.
Alyssa Company contributed five kills and three block assists.
Emma Ratermann directed the Panthers' offense with 37 assists and three service aces.
Claudia Bonacorsi added five aces and eight digs to help Greenville control the match from the service line.
Greenville opened strong, posting a .423 hitting percentage in the first set and taking the second set behind 12 kills. Millikin answered by winning the third set and dominated the fourth, holding the Panthers to a negative hitting percentage to force a fifth set.
In the finale, Greenville regained its rhythm offensively and used timely kills from Downey and Legendre to secure the win.
Millikin was led by Maggye Smith, who matched Downey with a match-high 19 kills. Kyra Carothers added 11 kills while hitting .526 and contributed seven total blocks.
The Panthers finished with 51 kills, 47 assists, nine service aces and 12 team blocks in the victory.
The women will travel to Illinois Wesleyan for a tournament on Friday and Saturday.
