ST. PAUL, Minnesota – Milwaukee volleyball secured its first victory of the young season on Friday afternoon, as the Panthers put together a strong effort to knock off the Montana State Bobcats in four sets. Earlier in the day Milwaukee dropped a four-set match to the California Baptist Lancers.
 
"We made quite the turnaround," commented head coach Susie Johnson following the day's action. "I feel like our team's response in match two today was incredible."
 
The Panthers more than tripled their hitting percentage from the first match of the day to the second, hitting a season-best .314 against Montana State with 62 kills against 18 errors on 140 swings.
 
Match 2 vs. Montana State
The offense clicked for the Panthers against the Bobcats in their first-ever meeting, with Milwaukee putting down 62 kills, including a match-high 17 by Natalie Schmitz. Ari Miller was second on the team with 15, while Bri Geurts and Madi Malone each had 11 kills. It was the first time that four Panthers had double-digits in kills since last year's match against Utah on September 2.
 
"Our offense was strong, and our outside hitters responded against Montana State," commented Johnson. "Bri [Geurts] performed well, and Montana State did not have an answer for Ari [Miller].
 
Josie Johnson set a new career high with 31 assists on the match, while also adding 13 digs for her second consecutive double double. "Josie had a really good defensive match for us as well", added S. Johnson. Kaley Blake added 24 assists on the match, as she reached double figures in assists for the fourth time in five matches this season.
 
J. Johnson helped the team to a season-best 69 digs, with Malone leading the way with 19 digs on the effort. Sarah Schrader ended the night cap with 15 digs as Milwaukee held the Bobcats to a .158 hitting percent, a season-best for the Panther defense.
 
At the net, Milwaukee had 11 blocks with 10 assisted blocks for a season high. Lakyn Graves and Miller each had five blocks apiece, while Schmitz had four and Rachel Scott contributed with three blocks.
 
The black and gold took the opening set by a 26-24 margin, using a four-point run to take a 12-7 lead early in the match. After Montana State regained the lead at 14-13, the resilient Panthers took a 21-18 advantage before scoring the final two points on kills by Graves and Geurts for the first set win, 26-24.
 
The Bobcats took the second set by a 25-22 score, but MKE answered in the third including a 7-1 rally to take an 18-10 lead capped off by a kill from Schmitz. After opening a 10-point advantage, the Panthers were able to hold off the Bobcats and take the third set by a 25-16 score.
 
Looking to finish off the match in the fourth set, Milwaukee took an early 11-7 lead including a trio of kills by Geurts in the run. The Panthers continued to build onto its lead and led by as many as seven at 18-11. Montana State scored five unanswered to get back within one at 20-19 but Milwaukee finished off the match by scoring five of the last seven points.
 
Match 1 vs. California Baptist
Earlier in the day, the Panthers took on another first-time opponent in Cal Baptist and got off to a solid start with a 25-23 opening set win. However, the Lancers responded by taking the next three sets to pick up the match win.
 
Miller and Schmitz each had a dozen kills in the effort, but the Panther offense struggled with a season-low hitting percent at .101. Czhen Beneby had a season-best six kills in the effort. Johnson had 23 assists in the effort, while both Johnson and Mati Jakscht had the team's two aces on the contest.
 
Johnson also led the defensive effort with 11 digs, while Schrader also reached double-figures in digs with 10. Malone led Milwaukee with four blocks, while Schmitz had three solo blocks for a new career high.
 
It was a repeat of the opening weekend for the Panthers in their fourth match of the season, a closely contested set with California Baptist in the opener with five ties in the opening 12 points of the contest. The Panthers scored eight of the next 10 to take a 14-8 lead before the Panthers extended their lead to 21-15 capped off by a block from Malone and Miller.
 
The Lancers clawed back to within one at 24-23 but Schmitz off a feed from Johnson was able to clinch the opening-set win for the black and gold.
 
In the second set, the Lancers picked up a 25-13 win before a pivotal third set came up. It was once again another close battle as Cal Baptist took the period by a 25-22 margin despite a valiant comeback attempt from the Panthers, as they had a 10-6 run but it was not enough as the Cal Baptist took a 2-1 lead.
 
The fourth set saw Cal Baptist open an early 7-2 advantage, which set the Panthers back and were unable to overcome. Milwaukee had a late 10-3 run of their own but it was still too much as the Lancers won 25-19 to win the match in four sets.
 
Up Next
The Panthers will wrap up the weekend in Minnesota with host St. Thomas (Minn.), with first serve slated for 2:00 p.m. at Schoenecker Arena.