MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee volleyball team improved to 6-5 on the season with a straight-set win over the DePaul Blue Demons on Tuesday evening in the Klotsche Center.
 
The Panthers won the opening set by a 25-15 score before taking the second set by a 25-20 margin. Milwaukee went on to sweep the match with a third set score of 25-22.
 
MKE tallied 45 kills on the night and hit .239 offensively, while the defense thwarted any attempt made by DePaul on offense as the Blue Demons ended the night hitting just .144.
 
"I think we dominated the net play to take over and win that match", noted head coach Susie Johnson. "Statistically, I thought we were really balanced, and getting five service aces were great for us." Five service aces were one shy of Milwaukee's season-high of six on August 26 vs. Villanova.
 
"I was proud of the team," Johnson added. "I thought we were very disciplined tonight and that was the goal."
 
The Panthers had 44 assists on their 45 kills, led by Kaley Blake with 19 and Josie Johnson with 18. Johnson was also tied with Natalie Schmitz for the team lead with two aces apiece, while Blake also had one ace on the night.
 
Milwaukee spread the offense with five Panthers recording at least five kills on the night including Ari Miller, who ended the night with a team-high 12. Bri Geurts had nine, while Madi Malone added eight, and Czhen Beneby ended the match with seven. Lakyn Graves also added five kills, the most in a single match in her Milwaukee career.
 
The Panthers as a team registered double-figures in blocks for the fifth time this season, finishing the match with 10. Miller led the way with six, while Beneby and Graves each had four. Malone and Schmitz each got credit for one block apiece on the night.
 
Milwaukee took the first three points of the match on a kill by Malone, block by Beneby and Miller before a kill by Miller. The Panthers extended their lead to 8-3, while continuously building their lead with three to four-point bursts. DePaul fended off set point on three occasions before Malone capped the period with a kill off a pass from Blake.
 
The Panthers held an early lead once again in the second set and had a 7-3 advantage before scoring the next four on a kill by Geurts, ace by Schmitz, an error by the Blue Demons and another kill by Geurts to extend Milwaukee's lead to 11-4.
 
DePaul was able to tie the match at 13 and took a 17-15 advantage before Milwaukee scored five of the next six points to take a 20-18 lead. The Panthers forged forward with three unanswered kills, with the first by Graves, followed by back-to-back kills by Malone before DePaul scored to close the gap to 23-20. Miller scored the next point for Milwaukee before Beneby and Miller put the cap on the set with a combined block to take the set by a 25-20 score.
 
The Panthers were sluggish in the early stages of the third set, falling behind by a four-point start by the Blue Demons. Milwaukee then responded with five straight points to regain the lead in the early going before scoring four of the next five to take a 9-5 lead. DePaul evened the score at nine before the two sides were locked in a close battle and were tied at 21 through the first 42 rallies.
 
Geurts connected on a key kill followed by by a kill on a swing by Graves before an error on DePaul gave Milwaukee match point. After one point by DePaul closed the gap to 24-22, Geurts put a capper on the night with a kill to close out the match for the Panthers.
 
Milwaukee will next host Marquette for the second-straight Big East opponent to travel to the Klotsche Center. First serve will begin at 6:00 p.m. with live stats coverage and video coverage on ESPN+ will be available at the links on MKEPanthers.com.