CHICAGO – In the team's opening match of the 2024 'Chicago Cup', the Milwaukee Panthers fell to the host DePaul Blue Demons in three sets on Thursday evening. DePaul won by set scores of 25-19, 25-18, 25-21.
 
Milwaukee mustered just 20 total kills on offense while hitting .113 on the match, while the Blue Demons finished the night with 43 kills and a .347 hitting percentage. DePaul had an 8-1 advantage in blocks and a 51-33 lead in digs and finished with just 10 attacking errors to the 20 made by the Panthers.
 
"Give credit to DePaul, they kept us out of rhythm all night," commented head coach Susie Johnson. "We had a difficult time getting anything going offensively or defensively."
 
Jill Pressly led DePaul with 13 kills and was second on the team with nine digs. Amanda Saeger had 20 assists while Rachel Krasowski had 15. Krasowski had a double-double with a team-best 20 digs. Aly Kindelberger finished the night with five blocks.
 
After falling behind early, Milwaukee was able to fight back and level the score at six following a strong service rally by Lakyn Graves. The Panthers trailed by five midway through but Natalie Schmitz put down back-to-back kills followed by a DePaul error to get within two at 19-17. The Panthers ran out of steam late as the Blue Demons took the set, 25-19.
 
The second set saw the teams even through the opening 18 points with Milwaukee getting its ninth point on a kill from Madi Malone off a pass from Milica Tomic. DePaul put together a 9-3 effort to take an 18-12 advantage, before going on to take the set 25-18.
 
A balanced third set was deadlocked at 13 before Milwaukee scored three unanswered on a pair of kills by Malone and a block by Graves to make it 16-13. DePaul erased the lead and tied the score at 20 before the Panther regained a slim lead at 21-20. The Blue Demons finished off the match with the longest run for either team with the final five points to win the third, 25-21.
 
Malone and Rachel Scott led Milwaukee with seven kills while Bri Geurts and Schmitz finished the night with six each. Tomic had 14 assists and Josie Johnson added a dozen. Tomic, Johnson, Kati Goba, and Kara Erdmann each had one ace.
 
Erdmann had 12 of Milwaukee's 33 digs, while Graves had the lone Panther block.
 
Milwaukee will be back in action on Saturday afternoon, when the team returns to McGrath-Phillips Arena for a 3:00 p.m. start against the UIC Flames.