NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After gaining confidence in an early morning victory, the Milwaukee volleyball team carried momentum into the evening. The Panthers' offense shined as they hit .351 in a 3-0 sweep of Belmont on Friday night. The win marked head coach Susie Johnson's 200th at the helm for Milwaukee. 
 
"We had a really efficient match against Belmont,"  Johnson commented. "Our attackers cleaned up their game and our blocking was disciplined so we could dig around it."
 
Shari Volpis set the stage early, slamming home the match's first kill and Milwaukee never looked back. The Panthers put away 16 kills, hitting .324 in the frame. Belmont closed the gap as close as one at 17-16, but kills from Ari Miller and Kleja Cerniauskaite, a Kylie Wilks ace, and a Belmont error pushed the MKE lead to 21-16.
 
The Bruins stopped the bleeding, but kills from Volpis, Makenzie Mroczenski and Carmen Heilemann put the Panthers up 1-0 with a 25-19 victory in the first.
 
The offense continued to click in the second set as Milwaukee ran out to a 6-1 advantage behind kills from Heilemann and Wilks. Belmont tossed in a few points, but the Panthers piled on runs and was extremely efficient in the frame, hitting .550 with 13 kills in 20 attempts. Wilks led the charge with four kills in five swings while Heilemann landed all three of her attempts as Milwaukee took the second 25-10.
 
After a 5-1 Panthers' run to open the third, the Bruins battled back with a pair of kills and an MKE error for a 13-10 advantage. The lead held until an attack error knotted the frame at 16-16. Following a Belmont point, Miller, Volpis, and Cerniauskaite each recorded a kill in a 4-1 run to grab a 20-18 lead.
 
The Bruins again found the tying point two more times, but the offense of Milwaukee was relentless as Wilks pounded another home for a 23-21 edge. Belmont scored three of the next four but a kill and service ace from Wilks cemented the sweep and a 26-24 set win for Milwaukee.
 
"Our attacking improved immensely, and we were very balanced," Johnson continued. "Our setters did a great job of keeping the opponents off balance. It was an exciting win and I'm really proud of the whole team. It was a very good win."
 
The Panthers .351 attack percentage is their best since September 2, 2017 against Loyola Chicago when Milwaukee hit .354 in a 3-0 victory.
 
Miller reached double digit kills for the first time in her colligate career as she totaled 12 with just two errors in 19 swings, hitting .526. Volpis also reached double digits, recording 12 kills in 23 attempts.
Grabowski led the defense, reaching double digits for the 17th consecutive contest dating back to September of 2018. The sophomore totaled 21 digs in the win.
 
Jenn Dore dished up 29 assists in the offensive barrage while Rylie Vaughn totaled 16 assists to go along with six digs.
 
Johnson, in her 13th year at the helm, now has 200 victories for Milwaukee, the third most in school history. 

Milwaukee will look the start the season 3-0 for just the third time in the last 15 seasons. The Panthers take on North Alabama at 11:00 am in their final match of the Bruiser Showcase. Live stats will be featured for the neutral contest.