NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Fresh off a pair of wins including a sweep on Friday, the Milwaukee Volleyball continued their winning ways on Saturday. The Panthers recorded their second straight 3-0 win, notching a victory over North Alabama, to move to 3-0 for the first time since 2016.
 
"North Alabama came out and played really good defense," head coach Susie Johnson commented. "We had to step up our offensive game and I thought we really did that well."
 
In the opening frame, the two battled back and forth before Milwaukee found their rhythm with a 5-1 run to grab an 18-14 advantage. Kills from Kylie Wilks, Kleja Cerniauskaite, and Ari Miller later made it 21-17 before a pair of Lions errors and two Miller aces closed out the frame 25-17.
 
Miller pushed Milwaukee to an early advantage in the second after hammering home a pair of kills to make it 4-3. North Alabama pulled back even at 5-5 but a kill from Cerniauskaite and a Lions error put the Panthers up for good.
 
Milwaukee continued to pile on points with more kills from Miller, Heilemann, and Cerniauskaite as the three combined for 11 of the team's 15 kills in the second. Heilemann left no doubt to close the frame as she slammed home the final three attacks of the set to pull ahead 2-0.
 
 North Alabama notched the first point in the third set, but a 5-0 run had Milwaukee on top and in control. The offense never slowed down, jumping out to a 14-4 advantage.
 
In the frame, the Panthers hit .394 with 15 kills and just two errors. Louise Kiekhofer finished 4-for-7 (.571) in the set while Jenn Dore and Rylie Vaughn each dished up six assists.
 
Up 23-11, Cerniauskaite and Kiekhofer sandwiched kills around a Lions point for a 25-12 victory and the Panthers' second consecutive sweep.
 
Thanks to a solid all-around effort, Miller was named Bruiser Showcase Most Valuable Player. The freshman finished with 26 kills and six aces in the three victories.
 
Jess Grabowski and Heilemann earned a spot on the All-Tournament team as well. Grabowski totaled 51 digs, averaging 4.64 per set while Heilemann hit .345 with an average of 2.64 kills per set (29 total).
 
In the sweep, both Dore and Vaughn totaled 20 assists while Vaughn recorded her second double-double of the year with 10 digs.
 
Cerniauskaite and Heilemann reached double digit kills with 11 and 10, respectively.
 
As a team, Milwaukee did not commit a service reception error all day in 45 attempts.
 
Next, Milwaukee will head to Des Moines, Iowa for the Drake Invitational. The Panthers will face off against Eastern Washington on Friday, September 6 at noon. Live coverage links can be found on the volleyball schedule page.