Milwaukee Athletics

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Behind a season-high 61 kills, the Milwaukee volleyball team recorded a five-set win over the Montana State Bobcats on Friday afternoon.
 
The Panthers controlled much of the opening set and cruised to a 25-15 win. Montana State answered back with consecutive set wins in the second and third (25-23, 25-18), but Milwaukee clawed back and won the fourth, 25-21. In the fifth set, the Panthers used a five-point run to take a 9-5 lead and won the fifth, 15-12.
 
A day after setting her Division I and Milwaukee high with 16 kills, Annie Eschenbach raised the bar once again and had 19 kills against the Bobcats while tallying a .359 hitting percentage. Ella Parker had 12 kills and Ella Schuetz picked up 10. Milwaukee also got seven from Josie Noble, and six from Bella Lipski.
 
Milica Tomic had a strong showing in the setting game with 27 assists on the match, five shy of her career-best mark. Emma Duffy added 20 assists on the afternoon.
 
"Annie and Milica played really well today," said head coach Susie Johnson. "We had a lot of different scenarios thrown at us throughout that match. There were some moments where we had to make adjustments, stay composed and find a way to respond when they put pressure on us. I thought we did a really good job of that, and we learned a lot about ourselves today."
 
Milwaukee also held a 9-2 advantage in service aces, led by Liv Doerre with four while Schuetz added two.
 
Despite being outblocked 14-9, Milwaukee got a team-best five blocks from Lipski, four from Julia Kellner and three from Noble. Kati Goba had a team-best 16 digs and Schuetz added 12 for her first double-double of the season and fourth of her career.
 
"I'm proud of this team and their ability to continue to respond, compete and find ways to make plays when we needed them most," Johnson concluded.
 
Montana State hit just .220 on the afternoon compared to the .230 for Milwaukee. The Bobcats were led by Joelie Spelts and Lauren Greeny with 13 kills apiece, with Greeny adding six blocks. Alice Steman led MSU with seven blocks. Setter Teagan Jaynes dished out 41 assists and had 13 digs, while libero Nicolette Noble led the Bobcats with 15 digs.
 
Milwaukee will look for the weekend sweep against host St. Thomas on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. The match between the Panthers and Tommies will be streamed on the Midco Sports Network, with the link available at MKEPanthers.com.