MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Milwaukee volleyball team came out hot early on Friday night, hitting over .400 in each of the first two sets as it took a 3-0 sweep of IUPUI. Following just their second loss of the season, the Panthers used that early momentum to knock off the Jaguars in three frames.
 
"The team was very focused, determined and efficient tonight," head coach Susie Johnson stated. "That really sets the stage and when we can do that, we are very good."
 
 It was all Milwaukee (19-2, 6-1 Horizon League) from the first serve as the Panthers rolled to a 10-2 advantage behind three kills from Ari Miller and two more from Kylie Wilks. Four straight points from IUPUI (6-14, 2-5 Horizon League) cut their deficit, but a kill from Kleja Cerniauskaite and a Jenn Dore service ace powered a 4-0 MKE run for a 16-8 advantage.
 
Later, after a kill from the Jaguars pulled them within six, the Panthers forced a sideout and Wilks served up four straight for a 25-14 victory.
 
Milwaukee continued to pour it on in the second, hitting .440 with 14 kills and just three errors. An early 10-3 run had the Panthers in the driver's seat, up 11-6.
 
From there, kills from Cerniauskaite, A. Miller, and Louise Kiekhofer sparked a 5-1 run and Milwaukee was all over the Jaguars.
 
Errors plagued IUPUI all night and partnered with kills from Carmen Heilemann and Jenna Miller, Milwaukee was up 24-10. After a Panthers' service error, the Jaguars returned the favor and MKE was up 2-0.
 
The Jaguars bounced back with a 4-0 lead in the third, but Milwaukee was determined to tally a sweep. Three kills from Wilks fueled an eight-point spurt to hand the Panthers a 10-5 advantage.
 
IUPUI battled back to cut its deficit to one point on multiple occasions, but the MKE defense was too strong, not allowing anything to land for the Jaguars. The Panthers allowed just five IUPUI kills in the third set as they rattled off seven straight points to end the match.
 
Heilemann and A. Miller put up an identical line of 11 kills and a .421 attack percentage to lead the offense. Wilks put away seven of her swings in addition to five digs and a pair of assists.
 
"For a young player, she [A. Miller] is very competitive," Johnson commented. "She was ready to get after it tonight and understood the changes she needed to make."
 
Defensively, the Panthers held IUPUI to a .000 attack percentage. Grabowski led the back line with 12 digs while Mati Jakscht recorded eight to go along with a career-high six assists.
 
Setters Rylie Vaughn and Jenn Dore combined for 29 assists and 14 digs for Milwaukee.
 
"Our defense was pretty good," Johnson remarked. "It started with the front row and blockers. They were very efficient and understood the game plan so we could defend. Seemed to be going very well today."
 
The Panthers will look to stay perfect at home as they host Wright State on Saturday. Tickets, live stats, and live video on ESPN+ for the 4:00 pm contest will be available on MKEPanthers.com.