MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Milwaukee had 52 kills and hit .319 offensively as the Panthers swept the Robert Morris Colonials on Saturday afternoon at UPMC Events Center. The win is Milwaukee's seventh-straight and moves the team to 14-2 in league matches in 2024.
 
Madi Malone led the Panthers with 12 kills as Alexis Lewis and Natalie Schmitz each had 11 kills apiece. Lewis hit an impressive .588 on 17 attempts with just one error.
 
Josie Johnson tallied 20 assists and Milica Tomic added 17, while Kara Erdmann had seven helpers to go along with 24 digs in the effort.
 
MKE got three blocks apiece from Bri Geurts, Lakyn Graves, and Lewis, while Rachel Scott added a pair up front.
 
The Panthers took the match in three sets, winning 25-23 in the opener before taking the second, 25-19. Milwaukee won the match in the third by a 25-17 score.
 
"Our response was great today after adjusting our game plan against Robert Morris, who really pushed us in yesterday's [five-set] match," commented head coach Susie Johnson.
 
The Panthers had at least 13 kills in all three sets, including a match-best 21 in the third. Meanwhile, Milwaukee's defense held the Colonials to 12 or fewer kills in each of the three sets as Robert Morris hit just .170 on the afternoon.
 
"We increased our service pressure and hit our spots better on the court to increase our kill total," Johnson added. "We were balanced offensively with all of our kills, which is what we are always trying to achieve."
 
Not only did the Panthers hold a 52-34 kill advantage, but MKE had 47 assists to the 33 of RMU. Milwaukee also led in digs at 53-46, but it was Robert Morris to lead 8-4 in the ace column.
 
"I thought our composure and our ability to make adjustments went really well today," Johnson concluded. "I was really proud of our overall effort."
 
The Panthers trailed late in the opening set at 20-18 but closed out the period on a 7-3 run capped off by a pair of kills by Malone and a block from Graves and Scott. Milwaukee finished the set with a match-best three blocks, while Malone led the Panthers with five kills.
 
Milwaukee closed out the second set on an 8-2 run, including the last four points, capped off by an ace by Schmitz to give MKE the 25-19 win. Geurts and Malone had four kills to lead the way on offense, while Erdmann tallied 12 of her 24 digs in the second period.
 
Lewis and Schmitz paced the Panther offense with six kills apiece in the third set to lead the team to an eight-point win. In total, Milwaukee had 21 kills in the third, while hitting .474 with just three errors on 38 attempts. Johnson had 18 assists in the set, as Erdmann added another seven digs.
 
Geurts finished the afternoon with seven kills and a .385 hitting percentage, while Scott tallied seven kills of her own and hit .333. Johnson tied her career-high with three kills.
 
Natalie Stepanovich led RMU with nine kills and 15 digs. Katie Cook had a team-best 15 assists, and Ashleigh Wallin had a team-best three aces to go along with her 13 assists. Three Colonials had three blocks, to lead the defensive effort at the net.
 
Milwaukee will be back home next weekend to close out the regular season with a pair of matches against Cleveland State. The Panthers and Vikings will meet at 6 p.m. on Nov. 15 and 2 p.m. on Nov. 16.