KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Milwaukee volleyball team closed out the opening weekend of its season with a pair of non-conference matches at the University Arena as part of the Western Michigan Invitational.
 
The Panthers opened the day by taking on Northern Iowa, dropping the match in three sets. Later in the afternoon, MKE met up with the Villanova Wildcats for the first time in program history and went into extra points in the fifth set, as it was ultimately Villanova to escape narrowly with a 17-15 fifth-set win.
 
"Although the outcomes weren't there, we got better every time we played this weekend," noted head coach Susie Johnson on Milwaukee's three matches in Michigan.
 
Following the conclusion of the tournament on Saturday, Milwaukee's Ari Miller represented the Panthers on the All-Tournament Team. Miller finished the three-match weekend with 47 points as she accounted for 37 kills and 10 blocks. She hit .380 offensively and chipped in with a team-best five aces while securing 10 digs and two assists over 12 sets.
 
Match 2 vs. Villanova
The Panthers and Wildcats exchanged the opening four sets, with the Panthers taking set two by a 25-22 margin and the fourth by a 25-18 difference. Milwaukee was within three points in both the first and third sets, in the equally contested matchup.
 
In the fifth set, the black and gold trailed by a 6-2 margin and got back within one at 6-5. Villanova opened a 10-5 lead, but Milwaukee showed plenty of grit and scored the next six points to take an 11-10 advantage.
 
The Panthers held a 13-11 lead late in the fifth before the score was tied at 14. Villanova took a 15-14 lead before Milwaukee knotted up the score at 15, however the Wildcats scored the final two points to narrowly escape with the victory.
 
"We played really well in this match; we found our offense and there were lots of positives coming from this match," Johnson added. "Coming back from being down 10-5 in the fifth set, we showed some toughness and it's very exciting to see."
 
"Both offensively and defensively, in terms of digging, it was the best we did all weekend," Johnson concluded.
 
Milwaukee's offense put together its best offensive output of the young season with 65 kills and a .290 hitting percentage. The Panther setters registered 60 assists, while the offense also had six aces.
 
The Defense also combined for 61 digs and six blocks in the evening tilt.
 
Miller led Milwaukee with 19 kills and a .455 hitting percentage on the match with four blocks in the effort as well. Madi Malone and Natalie Schmitz had identical 17 kills and .286 hitting percentages to contribute to the Panther offensive outburst. The 17 kills from Schmitz were a new career high to eclipse her previous high of 15 against Robert Morris during the 2022 season. 19 kills from Miller were her highest output since the team's finale in 2021 against UIC.
 
 Kaley Blake and Josie Johnson each had a strong day setting for the Panthers as Blake had 26 and Johnson had 30. It was just the second time in their career that the duo combined for 25-plus assists in a single match, with the first time coming at home against IUPUI on October 18 of last season.
 
Two Panthers held the team lead in aces with Lakyn Graves and Sarah Schrader connecting on two aces apiece.
 
Milwaukee had six blocks on the match, including four from Miller, while Malone and Graves each had two.
 
Kara Erdmann had 16 digs on the defensive side of the ball, while Blake chipped in with 11 for her first double-double of the season.
 
Match 1 vs. Northern Iowa
Earlier in the morning the Panthers took on Northern Iowa for the first time since the 2005 season and were able to keep pace with one of the top offenses in the region keeping each of the three sets within five points as Milwaukee fell 25-22, 25-23, 25-20.
 
"Northern Iowa is a top Missouri Valley team that is very strong offensively, and we battled them very well," commented Johnson on the Panthers. "It came down a few plays here and there, I thought we battled a lot better today against a very good Northern Iowa team."
 
The first set was tied on 15 separate occasions through the first 42 points as the sides were knotted at 21 late in the period. UNI opened a 23-21 lead before Milwaukee won back service on a kill by Schmitz, but Northern Iowa was able to put down the final two points to take the first set.
 
The second set started out well in favor of Milwaukee as the Panthers took six of the first seven points including two kills by Schmitz and one from Miller. Northern Iowa fought back to even the score at 12 before the lead see-sawed back and forth once again with ties at every point level through 19-19. UNI scored the next four before MKE was able to fight back for a 23-23 tie, but Northern Iowa was again able to finish off the set with two unanswered kills.
 
In the third it was Northern Iowa to jump out to the early six-point advantage at 9-3 before taking a 15-6 lead. Trailing by eight at 19-11, Milwaukee scored seven of the next nine with kills by Czhen Beneby and Schmitz during the run to pull the black and gold back within three at 21-18.
 
Ultimately it was Northern Iowa to go on a late run of its own with five of the final seven points of the set to finish off the match with a 25-20 margin.
 
Miller led Milwaukee with 10 kills and a .500 hitting percentage while also leading the squad with two aces. Johnson notched 15 assists in the effort while Blake added eight of her own.
 
It was Erdmann to lead the team with 10 digs on the defensive side, while Graves had a team-best four blocks against UNI. Miller and Beneby each secured three blocks in the effort at the net.
 
Up Next
After starting the season in Michigan, the Panthers will now head west to take part in the St. Thomas Tommie Invitational beginning at 11:00 a.m. on September 1 with Milwaukee taking on California Baptist. The Panthers will match up with Montana State later in the day on Friday.