FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Behind a career-best 19 kills from Natalie Schmitz, the Milwaukee volleyball team won a four-set match over the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons on Friday evening.
 
Schmitz had just one error to finish the match with a .486 hitting percentage, as the Panthers combined for 55 kills. Milwaukee limited their errors with just 12 on the night, while reaching a new season-best with 12 blocks in a league contest to force the Mastodons into 25 hitting errors.
 
Leading the way in blocks were Lakyn Graves and Alexis Lewis with six apiece, while Rachel Scott added five. Czhen Beneby and Madi Malone added two apiece, with Schmitz and Bri Geurts adding one each.
 
"I thought we did everything at a great level tonight, we played with a lot of tenacity and determination," said head coach Susie Johnson after the match. "The great thing about tonight was we were able to play at that level throughout the match for us to come out on top."
 
The Panthers took the opener, 25-17, before Purdue Fort Wayne leveled the match with a 25-20 second-set win. In the third, Milwaukee took control with a 25-14 win before recording the victory in the fourth by a 25-22 margin.
 
"Purdue Fort Wayne is a very competitive team," Johnson added. "They challenged us and made us fight for every point, but we responded with a full-team effort."
 
The win gives Milwaukee its fourth-straight win, while the team improves to 11-2 in Horizon League play. Purdue Fort Wayne falls to 8-5 in league play and are tied with Cleveland State for third in the league. The loss was the first of the season at home for the Mastodons, who are now 8-1 at the Gates Sports Center.
 
Malone had 13 kills and Scott added eight, finishing the match with a .389 hitting percentage. Milica Tomic had a team-best 21 assists and finished with a double-double as she picked up 12 digs. Kara Erdmann led with 15 digs, while Malone added a dozen. Josie Johnson and Malone tied for the team-best with two aces, with Johnson adding 18 assists.
 
Milwaukee led early and with healthy leads in the first set, committing just one hitting errors in the set. Malone and Schmitz each had four kills as the Panthers hit .406 to the .189 by Purdue Fort Wayne.
 
The second set had a pair of lead changes and saw the score tied four times as the Mastodons used five service aces to help create separation, winning the second set by three.
 
The defensive intensity was turned up by Milwaukee with four blocks in the third set including three by Lewis as the Panthers held the Mastodons to a match-low .026 hitting percentage. Schmitz and Scott had three kills each in the third.
 
The Panthers had another four blocks in the fourth set, but it wasn't just their defense that helped tame their opponent. Milwaukee had a match-best 16 kills in the fourth, including seven kills on 14 swings without an error, including the final two to seal the 25-22 fourth-set win.
 
Purdue Fort Wayne was led by Panna Ratkai with 16 kills and four aces, while the dual setters of Nicole Jones and Taya Haffner had 25 and 22 assists, respectively. LonDynn Betts was able to defend 25 Milwaukee attacking attempts, while the Mastodons finished with three blocks as a team.
 
Milwaukee and Purdue Fort Wayne will matchup again on Saturday afternoon at the Gates Sports Center, with first serve set for 1:00 p.m. Tomorrow's matchup will be available on ESPN+.