Milwaukee Athletics

MILWAUKEE – It took five sets, but the Milwaukee volleyball team picked up another Horizon League win on Saturday afternoon, downing the Cleveland State Vikings.
 
Milwaukee won the opener 25-23 before the Vikings won the next two sets, 28-26 and 25-22. With their backs against the wall, the Panthers responded with a 25-18 win in the fourth before narrowly escaping with the fifth set win, 15-13.
 
Ella Parker led the way for Milwaukee with a career-high 21 kills as the Panthers recorded a season-high 70 kills. Milwaukee hit .215 as a team, while Cleveland State had a .213 hitting percentage and 56 kills.
 
Milica Tomic also had a career best, finishing the match with 36 assists and a career-high 19 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Tomic and Parker each had three aces on the afternoon.
 
Annie Eschenbach and Josie Noble each had 13 kills, while Ella Schuetz added 12 kills and 13 digs for her third double-double of the season. Noble had three blocks at the net, while Bella Lipski led the Panthers with four blocks. Kati Goba finished with a match-high 25 digs.
 
"I'm proud of the way we hung in there for the entire match," said head coach Susie Johnson. "We competed hard and had to continue responding to the different challenges we faced throughout the match. Ella [Parker] responded very well today, stepped up when we needed her, and made a big impact in helping us compete. This team works extremely hard, and I'm proud of the effort they continue to put in every day. We're going to keep learning from these experiences, building on what we're doing well, and continuing to get better as the season goes on."
 
Milwaukee's ability to respond was key throughout the match The Panthers trailed 5-0 in the opening set before erasing a 20-17 deficit with a six-point run to take a three-point lead. Milwaukee held on to win the opener by two.
 
After dropping the second set by two points, the Panthers found themselves in another hole at 12-4 in the third. A 10-1 run propelled Milwaukee ahead by one, but the Panthers were unable to hold the lead as Cleveland State closed the set on a 7-2 run of its own.
 
Milwaukee led most of the way through the fourth set and scored four of the final five points to force the fifth period.
 
The momentum continued for the Panthers as Milwaukee took an early 7-1 lead in the fifth before Cleveland State chipped away and tied the score at 11. Kills by Julia Kellner, Lipski and Eschenbach helped Milwaukee move closer to victory, but the Vikings scored the next two points. Parker's final kill of the afternoon seal the match for the Panthers, who took the fifth set, 15-13.
 
Bryn VanVleet had a team-high 16 kills for the Vikings, while Allison Salazar recorded a double-double with 41 assists and 15 digs. Julia Jozefov contributed to nine of Cleveland State's 15 blocks. Addison Koppelman also had a double-double for the Vikings with 10 kills and 15 digs.
 
Milwaukee will head to Green Bay on Tuesday evening for a 6:00 p.m. start against the Phoenix at the Kress Center.