MILWAUKEE, Wis. – After dropping the first, the Milwaukee volleyball team rallied for three consecutive set wins to top Cleveland State on College of Nursing Pink Night. Five different Panthers reached double digit kills as Milwaukee improved to 10-0 in the Klotsche Center.
 
"It was an important match. Their record does not indicate how good they are," head coach Susie Johnson stated. "They always have a good game plan for us."
 
After a 4-1 lead to start to the match, the Milwaukee (22-2, 9-1 Horizon League) offense had a hard time clicking in the first set as they combined for 11 errors. Cleveland State (5-16, 1-9 Horizon League) recorded just nine kills but limited its mistakes to put the Panthers in a 1-0 hole.
 
"We just needed to settle down with our offense," Johnson said. "Cleaning that up and everyone just playing a little bit better was important. We just need to focus offensively so we could get in a rhythm again."
 
MKE responded in the second with a dominant 25-14 victory. Five kills from four different Panthers got things rolling early and Milwaukee never looked back. Up 6-2, Makenzie Mroczenski put away two kills in a 5-0 run and the Panthers were quickly up nine.
 
The Vikings tried battling back, pulling within seven at 21-14, but that was as close as they would get. Carmen Heilemann tallied two of her four kills in the set and Kylie Wilks added another in a 4-0 sprint to end it and tie the match 1-1.
 
Cleveland State controlled the third set early and used a 4-0 run to grab an 8-6 advantage. From there, the visitors continued to pile it on, rolling out to a seven-point lead at 17-10. Two more slams from Mroczenski helped a 5-0 run to close the gap, but the Vikings kept their foot on the gas and looked to go ahead in the match as they led 23-19.
 
The Panthers had a different idea, however, as a block from Heilemann and Ari Miller pulled them within three and brought Rylie Vaughn up to serve. The sophomore served up five straight points, getting all sorts of help from the defense including two more blocks from A. Miller and Louise Kiekhofer as Milwaukee took a decisive 25-23 victory.
 
The evenly matched teams continued a back-and-forth bout in the fourth frame before a 4-0 run had Cleveland State in control at 12-9. Milwaukee continued to chip away at the deficit and a kill from Kleja Cerniauskiate and two more from Heilemann handed the Panthers their first lead since 9-8.
 
After tying the set 18-18, the teams traded points back and forth before two Vikings' errors put Milwaukee in front 23-19. Cleveland State responded with three consecutive kills to pull within one but a Wilks kill and block from A. Miller and Cerniauskaite helped Milwaukee escape with a victory.
 
"I've seen this team do a lot of great things at the end of sets. They are confident and I just have to trust them," Johnson raved. "It was up to them to work it out and they need to keep believing."
 
Cerniauskaite led five in double digits with 13 kills, hitting .600 for the match. Mroczenski made a huge impact in her start, putting away 11 kills in 18 swings, hitting .556.
 
Heilemann, Shari Volpis, and A. Miller also joined in double digit kills.
 
Jenn Dore recorded her second straight double-double with 24 assists and 12 digs while Vaughn tallied 30 assists.
 
With 23 digs, Jess Grabowski led a defense that totaled 66 digs.   
 
Milwaukee will next hit the road as it travels to Wright State on Friday, November 1. Coverage for the 5:00 pm contest can be found on MKEPanthers.com. The Panthers will return home on November 8 for a 6:00 pm matchup against Oakland.