Milwaukee Athletics

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee volleyball team swept visiting Cleveland State on Friday evening, upending the Vikings 25-20, 25-14, 25-18 for its first conference win of the season.
 
The Panthers were paced by Annie Eschenbach and Josie Noble, who combined for 23 of the team's 37 kills on the night. Eschenbach led the team with 12 kills and hit .357, while Noble hit .421 on the evening and led the Panthers with six blocks at the net.
 
Milwaukee combined for eight blocks and eight aces, led by setter Milica Tomic with four aces. Tomic also led the Panthers with 25 assists and contributed with a pair of assisted blocks.
 
"Milica did an outstanding job tonight," commented head coach Susie Johnson. Tomic played the entirety of the match for the first time in her career, having previously played in a 6-2 offense during her two-plus seasons with the program.
 
Milwaukee's offense limited its errors, finishing the night with 13 hitting errors including a combined seven over the first two sets. The Panthers stifled Cleveland State's attack, holding the Vikings to a .080 hitting percentage, while Kati Goba led Milwaukee with a team-high 13 digs.
 
"I was really proud of the team and how they responded in this match," said Johnson. "We played a complete match from start to finish and did a great job of keeping pressure on Cleveland State throughout. We were aggressive, stayed focused on our game plan, and continued to execute in important moments. I thought we did a good job of limiting their opportunities to gain momentum while staying consistent on our side of the net. It was a strong team effort, and I was proud of the way everyone contributed to the result."
 
Cleveland State was led by Jazen Debina and Sophie Skidmore with six kills each, while Debina had a team-high three service aces. Allison Salazar recorded 11 assists and Fiona Cooper collected 10. Libero Vayda Delventhal secured 10 of Cleveland State's 29 digs.
 
The first set was tied at six before Noble connected on consecutive kills to put Milwaukee ahead 8-6. The Panthers did not relinquish the lead the rest of the set, leading by as many as seven before taking the opener by five.
 
CSU held another early advantage in the second at 6-4 before the Panthers rattled off five unanswered to take a 9-6 lead and coasted through the rest of the set to win by 11. The third set was close early again, but Milwaukee pulled away in the late stages and secured the match with five unanswered points, capped by consecutive Eschenbach kills.
 
Milwaukee and Cleveland State will play again on Saturday afternoon, with first serve set for 2:00 p.m. at the Klotsche Center.