ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Hendrix College volleyball team has earned a program-record 26 wins on the season, but none as big as the victory on Friday night. The Warriors knocked off 19th-ranked Millikin University 3-2 in the Bears Invitational hosted by Washington University. 

The five-set victory marks the team's first victory over a ranked opponent in program history. The Big Blue entered their match with Hendrix on a nine-game winning streak, and a 28-5 record overall before the Warriors took them the distance, earning the dramatic win. 

MC Rogers had 19 kills, tying her second-highest total for the season, and 16 digs for her third double-double in four matches. Bradi Ryan and Lauren Petrisin each finished with 12 kills while Sara Dyslin came away with eight kills and eight blocks. Allison Gaia led the Warriors with 25 assists and recorded a season-high 14 digs as well while Felicia Beeman led the squad with 27 digs. 

The Warriors staked their claim at an upset bid early in the match, edging the Big Blue 25-23 in the first set. A pair of freshmen led the Orange and Black to their first set win. Sara Dyslin came away with three blocks in the first set, while Bradi Ryan put down six kills to lead the team to a 1-0 lead. 

In the second set, Millikin flirted with disaster before pulling out an important comeback. The Big Blue earned a 23-20 lead late in the set, but Hendrix won three straight points to tie the set. The Warriors threatened to take a hefty 2-0 advantage, but the Big Blue snuck away with a 26-24 second set win.

Rogers led the Warriors to a third set win by putting down five kills in the set. Lauren Petrisin added four killsas the Warriors took a 2-1 match lead with a 25-22 third set victory.

Millikin ran away with the fourth set, earning a 25-19 win to tie the match at 2-2. Hendrix put up a .000 hitting percentage in the fourth, earning just eight kills and making eight costly attack errors. With match tied, it seemed that the Big Blue had the momentum entering the fifth and final set.

With the match tied at 2-2, the Warriors appeared the more veteran squad on the court despite their youth. The Big Blue took a 1-0 lead on a service ace, but floundered after that, giving the Warriors a 5-2 lead on five unforced errors. Back-to-back kills from Rogers and Ryan gave the Orange and Black a 7-3 advantage midway through the set. Millikin came roaring back with a 7-3 run of their own to tie the match at 10-10, but would never lead in the fifth set. Hendrix rattled off five consecutive points behind the service of Jill Sikes and two kills from Rogers to ice the match. 

Hendrix improves to 26-4 on the season, including a 12-0 mark in the month of October. The Warriors will return to action on Saturday, November 1 when they face Transylvania University and #5 Washington University.