Milford Mill handed Pikesville volleyball their first regular season loss in over 1,000 days as the Millers beat the Panthers in four sets on Friday. Coming into the contest, the Millers held a 5-3 record fresh off a three set road win over Woodlawn. Pikesville had won each of their nine games this season, surrendering three total sets (two vs. CMIT-North on 9/22 and one vs. Western Tech on 9/23). The Panthers got out of the gate hot in the first set, taking an early 7-1 lead, but the Millers closed that gap to a one-point differential. They took their first lead of the day midway through the set, going up 12-11, and a point later, Pikesville was forced to take a timeout after giving Milford Mill a 12-5 run. Their run continued following the timeout, scoring 10 while allowing just two. Pikesville tried to come back, but the Millers earned the set one win 25-18. In the second, Pikesville looked to exact revenge on the set one loss, but Milford kept it close early. After falling behind 4-3, the Panthers won five straight points, forcing a Miller timeout. The brake seemed to work as Milford went on a 4-1 run, but the Panthers scored eight straight points, making it a 17-9 set. Like Pikesville in the first set, Milford tried to claw their way back, but Pikesville still earned a 25-17 set win. The Millers wanted their revenge in the third set, jumping out to an 8-4 lead, but Pikesville brought it back to 10-8. It stayed a one to two point Miller lead for the majority of the set, but in a 21-21 tie, the Panthers won the point and took a late set lead. After a timeout, the Millers went on to win four straight points and claim a 25-22 set three win. The early part of the fourth set was much more in favor of the Millers, who ran up an early 7-2 lead, extending it to 1-4 before a Panther timeout. Milford Mill kept it between a six and nine point lead, going up by as much as 15-6 in the set. Pikesville began to claw their way back from there, shrinking Milford Mill’s lead to 17-14 after an 8-2 run. Despite the momentum against them, the Millers evened the run to 8-8, winning the set 25-22 and the game three sets to one. The game marked Pikesville’s first loss since Oct. 12, 2023, a four set loss at Lansdowne. Now 9-1, the Panthers will look to regroup before their out of conference match on Monday at home against Patterson Mill. Milford Mill improves to 6-3, and they’ll have a few days off before a road match against the Carver Wildcats on Wednesday. Graphic courtesy of @mma.volleyball on Instagram.