MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee volleyball team improved to 2-0 in Horizon League play as the Panthers swept the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons by the scores of 25-18, 25-9, and 25-19 inside the Klotsche Center.
 
The Panthers hit .394 as a team including a match-best .433 in the third set as Milwaukee's offense clicked on all cylinders throughout the contest. MKE had 47 kills on 42 assists, while also totaling eight service aces for the third time in the last four matches.
 
Defensively the Panthers accumulated 53 digs and added seven blocks on the match to help extinguish the Mastodons.

With the win, Head Coach Susie Johnson was a part of her 500th career win with the Panther volleyball program, including her time as both an assistant coach and a head coach.

Rachel Scott had a career-best nine kills on the afternoon, hitting .533 on the effort while Ari Miller led the Panthers with 13 kills and hit .650. Natalie Schmitz poured on eight more kills, while Madi Malone added seven and Czhen Beneby connected on six kills.
 
Schmitz and Kaley Blake led the Panthers with two aces apiece, while Josie Johnson, Malone, Miller, and Sarah Schrader each had one ace each on the day.
 
Blake led Milwaukee with 18 assists, while Johnson ended the match with 16 helpers. Schrader led the Panthers with 17 digs, with Blake second on the match with nine.
 
Milwaukee's blocking effort was led by Miller with five, while Beneby notched three blocks. Schmitz and Lakyn Graves each had two blocks, while Malone and Scott contributed with one apiece.
 
The Panthers took an early 4-1 lead in the first set before Purdue Fort Wayne evened the score at four. The Mastodons took a 9-6 lead before Milwaukee took back control at 16-15. MKE closed out the set with a commanding 10-3 rally, which included kills by Malone, a pair from Miller, and one from Schmitz before Johnson capped off the set with a kill to give Milwaukee a one-set lead.
 
In the second set, the Panthers led by a 6-4 margin before a kill from Scott sparked one of the longest runs of the season for Milwaukee. Behind the service from Schmitz, Milwaukee scored 10 unanswered points to turn a 7-4 lead into a 16-4 advantage, with kills along the way by Malone, Graves, and Scott in addition to an ace from Schmitz.
 
The overwhelming attack proved to be too much for the Mastodons as the Panthers closed out the set on a 7-2 run as MKE came away with the 25-9 set victory.
 
Looking for the second-straight sweep, Milwaukee trailed by a 4-2 score in the third before Schmitz connected on a kill off a pass from Johnson and a kill by Scott evened the set at four aside. The Mastodons led at the 15-13 mark before the black and gold answered with five-straight capped off by a service ace from Blake to take an 18-15 lead.
 
With the Panthers ahead by a 21-18 margin, Milwaukee got a kill by Malone and an ace from Johnson before an error gave the Panthers match point. Purdue Fort Wayne picked up one final point before Malone and Miller put the match away with a block to seal the win with a 25-19 score.
 
Milwaukee will head on the road for its next two conference matches beginning with Robert Morris in Moon Township, Pa. for a 5:00 p.m. (CT) start against the Colonials.