GREEN BAY, Wis. – Jess Grabowski and Kylie Wilks combined for 40 digs as the Milwaukee volleyball team swept Green Bay, the defending Horizon League Champions, on Sunday afternoon. The Panthers (15-1, 2-0 Horizon League) captured their 12th straight victory with the 3-0 win over the Phoenix (9-5, 1-1 Horizon League).
 
"The stats speak for themselves but really, I'm just proud of the team," head coach Susie Johnson said. "To beat two really good teams in three sets on the road was just incredible."
 
Defense was key on Sunday as Milwaukee totaled 72 digs as a team, the most this season in a three-set match and fourth most overall this year.
 
Early on in the first, the in-state rivals battled back and forth before a kill from Kleja Cerniauskaite had Milwaukee up four at 11-7. The Phoenix responded with three of the next four points, but it was all Panthers from there on out.
 
Jenn Dore served up a 7-0 run and Milwaukee added another 6-1 run as the Panthers ran out to a 25-13 victory in the first. MKE hit .282 in the set while landing 14 kills and totaling 27 digs.
 
Milwaukee came out strong in the second frame, rattling off an 11-4 run to start behind five kills from four different players. Green Bay cut its deficit to three at 15-12, but Phoenix errors kept the Panthers in the lead.
 
Green Bay again pressured late with back to back kills but an error and slams from Shari Volpis and Ari Miller put Milwaukee on top 2-0 after a 25-21 win.
 
A. Miller got things rolling in the third set as she put away two of her 11 kills to push Milwaukee to a 5-2 lead. The Panthers kept that advantage until Green Bay used a late run to grab its first lead of the set.
 
The Phoenix landed two kills and tallied a block during a 4-0 run as Milwaukee trailed by one 23-22. The Panthers responded, however, as A. Miller and Kylie Wilks put away consecutive attacks.
 
After tying it 25-25, the teams traded kills before Cerniauskaite gave Milwaukee a 27-26 match point. Green Bay's Taylor Wolf swung to tie it yet again, but her attack just missed the mark and the Panthers earned their fourth straight sweep.
 
Grabowski led with a team-high 23 digs for the second time in the last three matches. Wilks recorded a season-high 17 digs to go along with three kills and three assists.
 
Heilemann and A. Miller each reached double digit kills with 12 and 11, respectively.
 
Dore and Rylie Vaughn each tallied 19 assists while combining for 13 digs.
 
As a team, Milwaukee totaled 14 blocks for the second straight contest with Jenna Miller's four leading the charge.
 
The Panthers will look for their 13th consecutive victory on Friday, October 4 as they head to Ohio to face Cleveland State. Live coverage links for the 5:00 pm contest can be found on MKEPanthers.com.