INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Behind an all-around solid team effort, Milwaukee volleyball toppled Butler 3-0 at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Friday morning.
 
"That was a good win. I felt like we played entirely as a team today," head coach Susie Johnson said. "I felt like we were in control basically the whole match."
 
Defense was key for the Panthers (5-5) in set one as Milwaukee racked up 27 digs including nine from freshman Madi Malone. The two teams battled back and forth to 14 ties and five lead changes before a Butler (6-5) attack error and Abby Koenen gave MKE the lead for good at 21-19.
 
Ari Miller and Koenen added two more kills as the Panthers won the first 25-20.
 
Miller and the Panthers began to find their offensive rhythm in the second frame, hitting .364 with 16 kills on their way to a 25-20 set victory. Miller put away seven kills in the set.
 
In the third, Carmen Heilemann cashed in on her first three swings to help Milwaukee run out to a 7-3 advantage and the Panthers never looked back. MKE took advantage of nine Butler errors and hit .379 on the way to a 25-16 victory.
 
"Offensively, we were very clean. We had rhythm in our passing," Johnson continued. "Our block was disciplined so we could be controlled on defense."
 
Rylie Vaughn notched her fourth double-double of the season with 24 assists and 11 digs while Kaley Blake added 15 assists and a pair of digs.
 
Koenen led three in double figures with 11 kills. Miller and Heilemann each added 10 apiece with just one error each.
 
The Panthers will continue the Bulldog Brawl this afternoon with a 2:00 pm CT matchup against Western Michigan (6-3).
 
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