MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Despite being down 2-0 in the match, the Milwaukee volleyball team showed no quit and rallied to win three straight sets and earn a 3-2 win over Green Bay on Tuesday afternoon. The Panthers hit .311 in the final three frames to earn the series sweep of the Phoenix for the second straight year.
 
"I'm really proud of this team for getting better within the match," head coach Susie Johnson commented. "This is still a pretty young team and that's hard to do. They showed really solid signs of maturity today."
 
Trailing 2-0, the offense began to find the rhythm in the third. The Panthers put away 20 kills in the third set and followed with a 15-4-34 (.324) line in the fourth set to force a fifth frame.
 
MKE (3-3, 3-3 Horizon League) scored the first three points of the fifth before Green Bay responded and held a 10-8 lead following a Panthers' error.
 
Abby Koenen then put away her 12th kill of the match and a Green Bay (2-4, 2-4 Horizon League) tied it 10-10. Koenen slammed home two more kills for a 13-12 advantage and back-to-back Phoenix errors helped MKE to a 15-12 fifth-set victory.
 
"We had a game plan that had to adjust within the match," Johnson continued. "Mati had a really solid performance again and Riley was incredible."
 
Green Bay took an early lead in the match thanks to limiting unforced errors. The Phoenix were perfect on service receptions in the first and had just two attack errors, hitting .538 in the second for a 2-0 advantage.
 
Ari Miller then took over the in the third to spark the Panthers as she totaled seven kills on 10 swings, hitting .600 in the frame. Miller recorded four straight kills to end the third set and bring life to the Milwaukee offense.
 
"Ari is such a competitor with great energy. She continued to execute throughout the match today to help bring that energy to the rest of the team," Johnson said. "It's only her second year and she continues to get better each match."
 
A. Miller finished with a match-high 17 kills, a .438 attack percentage, and five blocks.
 
Carmen Heilemann and Koenen joined in double figures with 15 and 14, respectively.
 
Rylie Vaughn posted her third career 20-20 match, totaling 28 assists and 23 digs. Fellow setter Kaley Blake recorded her first career double-double with 20 assists and 10 digs.
 
Freshman Emma Loveall finished with nine kills and 14 digs while Mati Jakscht added 11 digs.
 
Milwaukee will next hit the road for a two-game series at IUPUI beginning on Monday, February 15. Live coverage for the 5:00 pm contest can be found on MKEPanthers.com.