SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Five players reached double figure kills to help the Milwaukee volleyball team top Notre Dame 3-1 on Sunday afternoon. With the victory, the Panthers were crowned Shamrock Invitational Champions.
 
"I'm just really proud of them," head coach Susie Johnson commented. "It was a very hard, competitive tournament but we saw a lot of growth which is so exciting. We had to fight all match. They were all over our main attackers in Ari and Carmen but Madi, Abby, and Kleja came through in clutch situations offensively."
 
Freshman Madi Malone got things going for Milwaukee (2-4) from the start as she racked up nine kills in the first set alone to lead the Panthers to a 25-19 victory.
 
Notre Dame (2-4) took control in set two early on but down 14-13, Rylie Vaughn connected with Malone, Ari Miller, and Kleja Cerniauskaite for five kills in a 5-1 run to lead by a pair.
 
The Irish locked it at 21-21 with a block but Abby Koenen and Malone put MKE in front 2-0 with back-to-back kills to end the frame 25-22.
 
In the third, Notre Dame limited its errors and hit .281 on the way to a 25-19 victory which cut the Milwaukee lead in half.
 
The Panthers' experience stepped up in the fourth, however, as Cerniauskaite, Heilemann, and Koenen combined for 11 kills and just one error to lead MKE.
 
Down by three, the trio combined for three kills in an 8-1 run which put Milwaukee in control 19-15. Notre Dame took its second timeout of the frame to cool off the Panthers, but MKE continued to double up the Irish the rest of the way and won the fourth 25-18 to secure the match.
 
Malone led all players with 19 kills while Miller added 11. Cerniauskaite, Heilemann, and Koenen each added 10 for the Panthers.
 
Jess Grabowski totaled a team-high 22 digs, her fourth straight match with at least 20.
 
Vaughn notched her third straight double-double with 28 assists and 15 digs. Kaley Blake added 20 assists and eight digs in the win.
 
Milwaukee will look to carry the momentum to Vermillion, S.D. for the South Dakota Classic which begins on Friday, September 10.
 
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