FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Setters Kaley Blake and Rylie Vaughn each recorded a double-double to help the Milwaukee volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne on Monday afternoon.  
 
"Our team effort tonight was so incredible," head coach Susie Johnson commented. "All around the court, everyone contributed."
 
Defense carried the Panthers (8-6, 8-6 Horizon League) in the morning match, but it was the offense that took control early in the regular season finale.
 
With the first set tied at 20, Sarah Schrader, Kleja Cerniauskaite, and Ari Miller each put away a kill for the Panthers in a 5-1 run to put Milwaukee on top.
 
The offense continued to stay hot in the second set as Milwaukee hit .324 with 17 kills in the second frame.
 
Cerniauskaite had three kills in the first five MKE points and Carmen Heilemann took over from there, racking up seven kills in the set. PFW kept it close at 20-18 but the two power-hitters tallied four kills in the Panthers' final five points of the frame to put MKE up 2-0.
 
In the third, Purdue Fort Wayne (10-6 ,10-6 Horizon League) pulled ahead late 19-16, but Abby Koenen and Heilemann combined for three kills to get it back to even.
 
Another slam from A. Miller and Heilemann had MKE up three but the Mastodons would not go away easy. PFW rallied back and took the lead at 24-23 but it was Milwaukee with the last word.
 
Tied 25-25, A. Miller put away her 11th kill of the match and followed with a block alongside Cernaiuskaite on the next play to give MKE a 27-25 set-three victory for the sweep.
 
"This team has handled so much adversity," Johnson continued. "They trusted themselves, their coaches, and fellow teammates. They keep doing the work to get better and better and I was so impressed and proud of them."
 
Blake finished with 23 assists and 10 digs while Vaughn totaled 15 assists and 20 digs.
 
Jess Grabowski reached at least 20 digs for the second straight match as she totaled 23 in the win.
 
Heilemann led the offense with 15 kills and a .367 attack percentage while A. Miller also reached double figures with 11 kills.
 
The Panthers won four straight matches to close the regular season.