DAYTON, Ohio - The Milwaukee volleyball team shook a sluggish start to down Green Bay 3-1 and advance to the Horizon League Championship for the first time since 2014. The Panthers fell 25-23 in the first frame but took three straight sets to earn the chance at their first Horizon League title since 2013.
 
"It was a really big win. We had to play better than last week, and I believe we did," head coach Susie Johnson commented. "I thought we had a really nice game plan and the team executed well. The team was very calm and really intentional behind what they were doing."
 
The Panthers (26-5 overall) had a hard time getting anything going in the first set, totaling 11 errors and hitting just .133 while Green Bay (21-9 overall) jumped ahead early. Trailing by 11, Milwaukee stormed back and cut its deficit to two but fell 25-23 to find itself an early hole.
 
"I think we settled down," Johnson said. "We had a hard time with our back row and front row doing positives at the same time. I felt pretty good at the end of the set because we had momentum into set two."
 
Milwaukee carried late first set momentum into the second, turning up the offense for 16 kills with a .351 hitting percentage. The two teams battled back and forth before a pair of kills from Carmen Heilemann had MKE on top 16-15. Green Bay followed with three consecutive attack errors putting Milwaukee in control 19-15.
 
Later, a miscue from the Panthers had the Phoenix within three at 22-19, but Jenna Miller put away a kill and Jenn Dore followed with an ace before a Green Bay attack error ended the set and tied the match 1-1.
 
After the Phoenix jumped ahead 7-4 in the third set, Milwaukee rattled off a 6-0 run behind four kills from Heilemann for a 10-7 advantage. Green Bay continued to keep it tight and grabbed a momentary lead later at 18-17, but the Panthers' offense responded. Heilemann, Ari Miller, and Kylie Wilks combined for four kills to pull in front 21-18.
 
Green Bay stopped the run with a kill but Heilemann landed her eighth kill of the frame and Kleja Cerniauskaite put away two of her own for a 24-19 lead. The Phoenix' Taylor Wolf answered with a kill but A. Miller responded and put the Panthers in front 2-1 with a 25-20 victory.
 
In the fourth frame, the two teams each had their time controlling early before a 3-0 Green Bay run cut their deficit to a point at 15-14. From there, Milwaukee and Green Bay continued to trade blows back and forth, totaling 19 tie scores and eight lead changes.
 
Each had multiple changes to close the set but each time the other had an answer. Down 27-26, Wilks and A. Miller landed kills to put Milwaukee up one. After trading points once again, a Wolf attack went long and Jenna Miller put away the winner, sending the Panthers' to the title match.
 
"We just keep it one point and one touch at a time. Stick to our game plan," Johnson said. "We prepare them for moments like this in practice. They all trust each other and more importantly, they trust themselves."
 
As a team, Milwaukee dominated the stat sheet, holding the edge in kills (72-57), hitting percentage (.280-.225), assists (68-54), and digs (83-63).
 
The Panthers had five players in double digits led by Heilemann and A. Miller with 14 apiece. Shari Volpis added 13 while Cerniauskaite and J. Miller each chipped in 12.
 
"What's important for us is Just balancing the team," Johnson mentioned. "I've said this all year - All 18. Everyone is important to this team. We need everyone playing well and I thought we did that tonight."
 
Jess Grabowski totaled 20 digs to lead all players while Dore recorded 14 to go with a season-high 35 assists. Rylie Vaughn dished up 27 assists in addition to seven digs.
 
J. Miller's 12 kills put in her double digits for the third time this season while the junior also recorded seven digs and a pair of blocks.
 
The Panthers earned their 26th victory of the season, matching the most in program history since joining NCAA Divison I.
 
With the win, Milwaukee advances to its 12th Horizon League Tournament Championship match, taking on Northern Kentucky at 1:00 pm CT. The Panthers' last trip was in 2014 while MKE last hoisted the trophy in 2013. Live coverage links for the Championship match can be found on MKEPanthers.com.