MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Trailing 2-0, the Milwaukee volleyball team rallied to force a fifth set but could not close the deal against Valparaiso and fell 3-2 at the Panther Invite.
 
"We fought all weekend – we have a mix of some experience and youth on this team but as a group, we have to figure out how to finish," head coach Susie Johnson said. "We lost a lot of the close sets and that was the difference."
 
The Beacons (2-1) had no trouble offensively early on and rolled out to the early lead behind a .377 attack percentage and 26 kills.
 
The errors built for Milwaukee, but the Panthers (0-3) responded in the third. Up 12-10, MKE rattled off an 8-2 run with kills from Ari Miller, Carmen Heilemann, and Madi Malone to fuel a 25-15 victory and close the gap.
 
In the fourth, Heilemann went to work, totaling six kills at a.417 clip to carry Milwaukee. The Panthers trailed 12-10 but put together a 7-0 run behind three kills from the senior to make it 17-12. From there, the Panthers took advantage of some Valpo errors and evened the match with a 25-15 victory.
 
The two teams fought to nine ties and five lead changes in the deciding fifth and Milwaukee looked in control after consecutive kills from Miller to make it 13-11, but Valpo responded.
 
The Beacons got a kill and block to knot it at 13-13 and after a service ace from Rylee Cookerly, Valpo's Peyton McCarthy put away a kill for the victory.
 
The Panthers led in most statistical categories including kills (69-55), assists (65-51), digs (78-73), and attack percentage (.219 - .181).
 
Miller led all players with 19 kills, hitting .341 while Heilemann and Bri Geurts added 14 and 12, respectively.
 
Jess Grabowski recorded a season-high 25 digs. Sarah Schrader added 14 while Madi Malone totaled 12 digs and eight kills.
 
Milwaukee next heads to South Bend, Indiana for the Shamrock Invitational hosted by Notre Dame.
 
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