Box Score MILWAUKEE, Wis. – After an early deficit, the Milwaukee volleyball team rallied, but ultimately fell 3-1 to Oakland on Friday evening. Shari Volpis put away a career-high 18 kills for the Panthers, but the Golden Grizzlies' limited their errors to hand Milwaukee a loss.
 
"We did not play our best but credit to Oakland, they came prepared tonight and played well," head coach Susie Johnson commented.
 
Errors hurt Milwaukee (23-4, 10-3 Horizon League) early on, as the Panthers recorded 11 miscues in the first frame. MKE held Oakland (14-11, 7-6 Horizon League) to just nine kills and a .132 hitting percentage but could not get past its own hitting percentage of .070.
 
After a kill from Abby Koenen pulled Milwaukee within five at 22-17, Jess Grabowski stepped up to serve and rattled off six straight points including three consecutive service aces to put the Panthers up 23-22. Oakland stopped the blitz with a block and following a kill, the Golden Grizzlies denied another Panthers' attack for a 25-23 win.
 
Oakland put together a few runs in the second frame as Milwaukee struggled to pass out of the gate. The Golden Grizzlies jumped out 8-4 and then again 12-7, keeping the Milwaukee attack at bay throughout.
 
Shari Volpis and Kleja Cerniauskaite gave the Panthers some life with kills in the middle of the set, but Oakland continued to pour it on with just one error in the frame for a 25-13 win and 2-0 lead.
 
The Panthers found a little rhythm in the third set and took advantage of some Oakland miscues to get out front at 8-5. After a pair of Golden Grizzlies kills, an error and three straight slams from Shari Volpis had Milwaukee up 14-7.
 
Later, a five-point Oakland run pulled the visitors within three but Carmen Heilemann stopped the run with a kill and added another later to go back up by five. Ari Miller found a seam to hand Milwaukee its first set victory and pull the Panthers within on at 2-1.
 
 In the fourth, Milwaukee controlled early but a 5-0 Oakland run put the Golden Grizzlies on top 16-14. The Panthers continued to respond to every Oakland point, but could not find the go-ahead score. After another Volpis kill to tie the set 22-22, a Golden Grizzlies kill and two Milwaukee errors handed Oakland a 3-1 win.
 
"I was really proud of how Shari played tonight," Johnson said. "We had to rely on her a lot tonight, and she played one of her best matches. Jenn also played great for us defensively."
 
Volpis hit .368 with the career-high 18 kills to lead the offense. The senior added five digs.
 
Jenn Dore recorded her seventh double-double of the year with 25 assists and 16 digs for Milwaukee.
 
Next up, the Panthers hit the road the face Northern Kentucky on Sunday, November 10. Live coverage for the match can be found on MKEPanthers.com.