PICTURED: Karen Rosales

North Park suffered a 21-25, 19-25, 18-25 loss to Millikin University in its CCIW opener Tuesday night in Decatur.

Sophomore Lauren Wiltsie led the Vikings with nine kills, while Reagan Clement, Niki Ahlstrand and Kasja Meyer each had three. Senior Karen Rosales added five digs as did Sarah Hua-Pham on the defensive side while Meyer dished out 10 assists.

A kill from Wiltsie early in the second set put the Vikings ahead 5-3, but Millikin responded with an 8-4 spurt to capture an 11-9 advantage. North Park countered with a 7-5 clip to tie the set at 16-16 on another Wiltsie kill, but Millikin closed out the set scoring nine of the last 12 points to earn the win.

Erin Syversen led the Big Blue with 13 kills while both Rose Syversen and Emily Mihalkanin had 15 assists each.

North Park (5-9, 0-1) looks to rebound this weekend when it travels to UW-Stevens Point for the UWSP Invite Friday and Saturday. The Vikings face host UWSP in the first round Friday at 4:30 p.m.