MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee volleyball improved to 9-2 in Horizon League play with a 3-0 sweep over the visiting Youngstown State Penguins on Saturday afternoon.
 
Milwaukee won the opening set 25-16 and coasted to a 25-9 second set win. The Panthers trailed 21-14 in the third set but used an 11-1 run to complete the weekend sweep of the Penguins.
 
"Youngstown State's players worked very hard and did not give up in the third set," noted head coach Susie Johnson. "At the timeout, I told our team we have to clean up our side, be more efficient and take care of the ball on our side better … and we definitely responded."
 
Lakyn Graves had two kills and a block during the final push and finished the match with 10 total on an impressive .667 hitting percentage. Madi Malone had a team-best 13 kills on offense as the Panthers finished the afternoon with 43 kills on 40 assists.
 
Josie Johnson had half of the team's assist with 20 on the afternoon, while Milica Tomic tallied 13. Natalie Schmitz tied a career-best with four service aces, and added eight kills
 
On the block, it was Graves to lead the way with six with Malone tying her career high with a four-block effort. Kara Erdmann led the Panthers with 19 digs, while Madi Malone had nine digs and Kati Goba added eight.
 
"I was really proud of our team for their consistency," Johnson added. "We were passing, setting, hitting, and doing all the things right today which we have been working towards all season."
 
Graves had a dominant showing in the first set as she finished the period with seven kills and two blocks. Milwaukee built up a 19-11 lead following a seven-point outburst, behind the service of Schmitz, before Graves finished off the set with an ace to win the opener by nine.
 
"Lakyn was extremely locked in from the beginning of the match," Johnson said. "She really turned a corner this weekend in terms of using all her strengths as a player."
 
MKE had just one hitting error the entire second set en route to the 25-9 win, including the last eight points with kills by Alexis Lewis, Malone, and Rachel Scott along the way. The Panthers had a match-best .429 hitting percentage in the set, while Erdmann had nine digs to help limit YSU to a .053 hitting percentage.
 
In the third, the Panthers found themselves trailing by seven at 21-14 following a 5-1 rally by the Penguins. Graves kickstarted the offense with a kill to earn back service for Tomic, as Milwaukee scored eight unanswered to take a one-point lead.
 
After the one point by YSU, Bri Geurts and Schmitz connected on kills to give MKE set point, which an error by the Penguins sealed the third-set comeback and the match win for the Black & Gold.
 
Lewis finished the match with four kills, Scott added three, while Czhen Beneby added a pair. Schmitz also added six digs, while Tomic and Johnson each added five of their own.
 
Abbie Householder had 11 kills and eight digs to lead Youngstown State, while Teagan Ng and Nyia Setla also had a team-best eight digs. Isabel Schaefbauer had 16 assists. Maria Insana had three aces to lead the Penguins, while YSU was led by Kelsey Cooper, Gabriela Machin, and Dayan Malave with three blocks apiece.
 
Milwaukee will welcome the Green Bay Phoenix to the Klotsche Center on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m., as the Panthers look to keep pace with league-leading Wright State (10-1), who took both of their home matches from the Phoenix this weekend.