Milwaukee Athletics

MILWAUKEE – It was a closely contested matchup as the Milwaukee volleyball team dropped a five-set decision to visiting Northern Illinois on Thursday evening.
 
Offensive statistics were identical as both teams finished with 66 kills and 24 errors on 185 attempts with a .227 hitting percentage. Defensively, digs at 78 and blocks at eight were also the same between the two evenly matched opponents. The lone difference on the stat sheet was Northern Illinois finishing with eight service aces to Milwaukee's four.
 
"Statistically, there were a lot of really good things happening tonight, and there are definitely positives that we can take away from the match," said head coach Susie Johnson. "In the moment, though, we have to execute at a higher level and make those plays when they matter most. This team is together now, and we have to continue to build on that. We need to compete better together, stay connected and find a way to make those big plays as a group when the match is on the line."
 
Katie Pahl led NIU with 18 kills, while Ava Grevengoed registered 16 kills and a team-best 17 digs for a double-double. Viktoria Djukic had 31 assists and Kylie Schulze dished out 23. Autumn Flynn had a team-best six blocks to go along with 15 kills and seven digs.
 
Milwaukee had four players reach double figures in kills, led by Ella Parker with 16, Josie Noble and Kami Stover with 14 each, and Ella Schuetz with 13 on the match. Milica Tomic had 32 assists to tie her career high, while Emma Duffy added 17.
 
Parker had a match-high 18 digs for the Panthers, followed by 16 from Tomic and 14 from Kati Goba. Noble had five blocks, while Annie Eschenbach added four.
 
The Panthers stormed out of the gates in the opening set and won by a 25-15 score, with 18 kills on just two errors, while hitting .500 as a team. Northern Illinois answered back with set wins in the second and third by 25-21 and 25-23 margins to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
In the fourth, the set was even at 19-19 before the Panthers scored the next four points. NIU responded with a pair, but a kill by Parker followed by a block from Bella Lipski and Schuetz forced the deciding set.
 
Milwaukee trailed 3-1 in the fifth and rallied to take a one-point lead. Neither side took more than a one-point advantage, with the set featuring 11 ties and four lead changes. Milwaukee tied the score at 12-12 on a kill by Noble before the Huskies tallied three unanswered points, including a match-winning block, to escape with the narrow victory.
 
Milwaukee will continue its homestand on Friday, Oct. 9, when the Panthers host Cleveland State for the first of two matchups against the Vikings. Serve time is 6:00 p.m., with game coverage available on ESPN+.