DAYTON, Ohio - The Milwaukee volleyball team had a hard time getting the offense going on Friday night as it fell to Wright State 3-0. The Panthers hit .379 in the third, but the Raiders had an answer for everything Milwaukee brought.
 
"It was hard to get anything going tonight," head coach Susie Johnson commented. "Wright state was essentially flawless. They did everything right, credit to them. They played well."
 
Ari Miller and Shari Volpis got things going for Milwaukee, landing kills to help the Panthers run to an 8-6 advantage in the first. After the two teams traded runs, Wright State scored five straight to gain control 14-12.
 
A Raiders error gave Milwaukee the lead back at 17-16, but the Raiders then put away three kills, scoring five of the next six points for the lead. Trailing 22-20, kills from Carmen Heilemann and Kleja Cerniauskaite slammed kills to regain a 23-22 advantage. Wright State would not fold, however, as two kills and a Panthers error gave the Raiders a 25-23 victory.
 
In the second, the Panthers ran into a buzz saw as Wright State was flawless with 16 kills and zero errors. With the Raiders up 5-4, the home squad rattled off a 13-1 run before Abby Koenen put away a kill. Heilemann tallied three kills but Wright State answered everything, hitting .593 in a 25-10 win.
 
Milwaukee needed a rally in the third and hit a match-best .379, but once again, the Raiders matched everything the Panthers put down. Late kills from Heilemann and Kylie Wilks pulled the Panthers within two, but two kills and a service ace handed Milwaukee their third loss of the year.
 
Heilemann led Milwaukee with 11 kills, hitting .600 and Koenen landed four kills, but overall the Panthers struggled to get the offense going, hitting .170 with 33 total kills.
 
Rylie Vaughn and Jenn Dore combined for 28 assists, 13 digs, and four aces for Milwaukee. Mati Jakscht also recorded seven digs for the Panthers.
 
Milwaukee will next head to Indiana to take on IUPUI on Saturday, November 2. Live stats and video for the 3:00 pm contest can be found on MKEPanthers.com.