CLEVELAND, Ohio – Despite dropping the first set, the Milwaukee volleyball team battled back and took the next three frames to claim a 3-1 victory over Cleveland State. MKE held the Vikings to just 28 kills over the final three sets in the win.
 
"We were so much more confident as a team," head coach Susie Johnson stated. "Offensively, we continued to get better and better as the match went on. Particularly Carmen [Heilemann] and Abby [Koenen] really seemed to figure it out and get in their groove."
 
Milwaukee (1-2, 1-2 Horizon League) got down early in the first set, trailing 12-6 before Carmen Heilemann found her groove. The senior put away three kills in an 8-3 run to help bring the Panthers within one.
 
Cleveland State (2-1, 2-1 Horizon League) responded with four straight points to put Milwaukee on its heels and rode that to a 25-20 set one victory.
 
The Panthers were not deterred and opened the second with kills from Jenna Miller and two from Emma Loveall to grab a 4-1 advantage. MKE maintained the slim lead until another run left no doubt.
 
Abby Koenen put away a pair of slams and Heilemann added another to spark a 5-0 run and take a 22-15 lead. CSU responded to score six of the next seven points but a Vikings' service error and Loveall kill tied the match 1-1.
 
After trading points back-and-forth to open the third, CSU landed three straight points for a 11-8 lead. The MKE offense kept Milwaukee close, however, as the Panthers landed three straight kills without an error.
 
The Vikings grabbed a 15-14 advantage but Koenen took over and put away three kills in four points to put Milwaukee in front 18-15. CSU pulled within one after an MKE error, but the Panthers took a 25-21 win thanks to a 4-1 streak to end the frame.
 
The Panthers took advantage of some Cleveland State errors to control the fourth set early and another run of three kills from Heilemann had MKE up 15-10.
 
CSU pushed late to pull within a pair but Koenen and Heilemann once again came through with kills to hand the Panthers a 25-21 set win and their first victory of the season.
 
"Defensively, we worked really hard and outdug them," Johnson continued. "I'm very proud of this team to endure a lot of adversity and push to come up with a positive outcome. We're looking forward to tomorrow's match."
 
MKE held a 57-53 advantage in digs led by Jess Grabowski's 12. Mati Jakscht added nine while Lauren Spaulding totaled eight.
 
Offensively, Heilemann led three in double digits with a season-best 16 kills, hitting .560, while Koenen added 14 kills.
 
Ari Miller did a little bit of everything, recording 10 digs, five blocks, and five digs.

Rylie Vaughn and Kaley Blake combined to dish out 51 assists and add 13 digs. 
 
Milwaukee will close the series against Cleveland State tomorrow at 1:00 pm. Live coverage links are available at MKEPanthers.com.