MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee volleyball downed Horizon League foe Green Bay on Tuesday evening at the Klotsche Center, wrapping up the match in three sets to give head coach Susie Johnson her 300th victory as Panther head coach.
 
The Panthers controlled most of the play throughout the match, hitting .297 as a team offensively with 45 kills on 44 assists. Leading the way for Milwaukee was Natalie Schmitz with 13 kills with Madi Malone adding nine. Milica Tomic had 21 assists, with Josie Johnson dishing out 17.
 
Kara Erdmann was strong on defense once again for the Panthers with 29 digs in the effort, while Malone finished with 10. The block was also key for MKE in the win, as the Panthers finished with nine including five by Lakyn Graves, and four apiece from Czhen Beneby and Alexis Lewis.
 
"That was a great win for us, especially to earn the win in three sets," commented Johnson following the match. "Green Bay pushed us throughout the match, but we were able to respond well and answer right back."
 
Milwaukee trailed early in all three sets but fought back to take the opener, 25-22, before a 25-19 second-set victory. The Panthers finished off the sweep with a 25-22 win in the third set.
 
MKE had 10 errors on attacks throughout the match, including just five errors through the first two sets.
 
"I'm really proud of how efficient we were in many aspects of the match," Johnson added.
 
The Panthers had the block working early with five in the opening set, including three by Lewis and two each from Beneby, Graves, and Scott. Schmitz had five kills to lead the Black & Gold and had a service ace to seal the first-set win.
 
Milwaukee put together one of their top performances of the season in the second set with an impressive .394 hitting percentage, led by six kills from Schmitz without an error on 11 swings. The Panthers closed the period on a 5-0 rally, including four off Green Bay errors, as the Phoenix finished the night with 24 errors collectively.
 
The third set saw Milwaukee hit .318 mark as it was Scott to lead the Panthers with five kills, while Lewis added four of her seven in the clinching set. Green Bay was able to fend off three set points late in the match before a Malone kill finished off the win for the Panthers.
 
Beneby at .400, Scott at .357, Lewis at .313 and Graves at .308 all helped Milwaukee's collective team hitting percentage. Graves, Malone, and Schmitz all had aces for the Panthers. Johnson added six digs, while Scott was one dig shy of tying her season-best with four.
 
Erdmann's dig total placed her second on the single-match digs mark for matches that ended in three sets. The program record for digs in a three-set match is 31 set by Bud K. Haidet Hall of Famer Ericka Malterer with 31 during an Oct. 3 match at Butler in 1997.
 
Green Bay was led by Calli Gentry in most categories including aces (2), blocks (3), assists (32), and digs (16), while Danilynn Schell paced the Phoenix offense with 12 kills.
 
Milwaukee (10-2 Horizon League) continues to keep pace with league-leading Wright State (11-2), who knocked off Northern Kentucky on Tuesday. The Panthers will head to Purdue Fort Wayne this weekend for a pair of matches beginning on Friday at 6:00 p.m. (CT).