VALPARAISO, Ind. - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee volleyball team earned a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Valparaiso University Friday night at the ARC.
 
"It was a really incredible team effort," Milwaukee head coach Susie Johnson said. "We completely executed the game plan and it wasn't easy - Valparaiso is a very good team."
 
Sophomore Myanna Ruiz blew away her previous career high, finishing with 24 kills to help spark the Panthers (12-10, 6-2 Horizon League) to the 25-21, 19-25, 26-24, 25-22 win over the Crusaders (18-6, 4-4 Horizon League).
 
"Myanna was incredible with the double-double and it was such an incredible effort on defense," Johnson said. "Taylor's 24 digs, Maddie with 15, Kayla with 15 – we worked hard on that all week. The fact that we had 23 more kills than them was just as important. I am really proud of the team."
 
Senior Julie Kolinske and junior Maggie Dunbar added 16 kills each. Emily Campbell paced Valpo with a double-double of 20 kills and 19 digs.
 
The decision kicked off the second half of the league season for UWM and helped them remain tied for first place with Oakland and Youngstown State, who both won as well Friday, at 6-2 in conference.
 
Ruiz added 17 digs for the double-double, with junior Kayla Price adding a double-double of her own with 15 digs and 55 assists, tying her season-high in the assist category. Senior Taylor Golabowski contributed a team-high 24 digs for the defense. Sophomore Maddie Schmitz set a career-high with 15 digs.
 
Ruiz, who topped her former collegiate-best of 18 kills on the night, dominated the opening set to help Milwaukee set the tone for the match. She tallied 11 kills in the opener as the Panthers hit .354 in the 25-21 victory.
 
Tied at 15, Valpo tallied three in a row to force a timeout by Johnson at 18-15. That turned the table, with kills by Ruiz, then Dunbar and then again by Ruiz to make it 18-18 and force a Crusader timeout.
 
A Dunbar kill gave Milwaukee the lead it would not relinquish at 19-18. Ruiz was brilliant the rest of the way, recording kills to make it 21-18, 24-19 and the winner at 25-19.
 
Valparaiso did not quit, holding the Panthers to a .095 hitting percentage in the second to square the match up heading into the break.
 
Set three was the key to the night. Back and forth very early, Milwaukee found itself in holes of 12-7 and 15-11 before rallying. Up 23-20, Campbell gave the Crusaders one last push, with back-to-back kills making it 23-22. A Kolinske kill returned momentum to UWM and, after a Valpo error, Dunbar went back-to-back with impressive kills to take the set by a final tally of 26-24.
 
The fourth was a thriller, featuring 10 ties and six lead changes, with the Panthers breaking the 15-15 tie and never looking back.
 
It's a quick turnaround for the team, heading to Chicago to take on UIC Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.