Panthers Season Ends In First Round Of NCAA Tournament

The women's volleyball team was handed a three-set loss by Millikin in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III regional at Illinois Wesleyan's Shirk Center on Thursday. Greenville fell by a 25-10, 25-15, 25-9 final score.

The Panthers started the match on the right foot with a service ace from Sarah Weiland to start the match. Greenville later pushed their lead in the set to 4-3 with a block from Anna Finch.

However, Millikin closed the set with a 22 of the next 28 points to gain the set win.

The second set started with the teams even at 2-all. Millikin took eight straight points before Greenville could get another point and held a 10-2 lead.

The Panthers shaved two points off the eight-point deficit to make the score 12-6, but they couldn't get within six points for the remainder of the set as the Big Blue grabbed set two 25-15.

Greenville trailed from the outset in the final set, but they were able to cut the deficit to five at 11-6. Millikin collected 14 of the last 17 points to close the match.

The Panthers were challenged to get anything going offensively and hit just .027 in the match. They had 12 kills and 10 errors with 73 attacks.

They gained three services aces with two coming from Allyson Mitchell. The Panthers received four points from blocks with two solo blocks from Finch and six block assists.

Sarah Watts and Brittni Bell led Greenville with three kills. Mitchell totaled six digs.

The Panthers (26-8) concluded their season as SLIAC tournament champions for the third straight year and tied the 2010 team for the most wins since Greenville has been a member of the NCAA Division III.

STORY COURTESY OF GREENVILLE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION