The Milwaukee Panthers concluded their 2024 regular season with a loss against the Cleveland State Vikings on Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Center. The Vikings secured a straight-set victory over the Panthers, marking scores of 25-19 in both the first and second sets, and 25-20 in the third.
Milwaukee’s Josie Johnson recorded a double-double with 16 assists and 11 digs. Kara Erdmann contributed 21 digs to her record-setting season, while Lakyn Graves led the team with seven blocks. Despite these efforts, Milwaukee struggled offensively, achieving a hitting percentage of just .092 with 19 errors against 29 kills from 109 attempts. In contrast, Cleveland State had 41 kills and a .212 hitting percentage.
“Give Cleveland State credit,” said head coach Susie Johnson post-match. “They came to play and executed at a high level… meanwhile we had a difficult time getting into any type of rhythm and had a hard time responding.”
Liberty Torres was instrumental for Cleveland State with 15 kills, supported by Nia Hall’s dozen. Ella Mihacevich contributed significantly with 32 assists and eight digs. Emma Walker and Laken Voss also provided defensive support with 20 and 10 digs respectively.
For Milwaukee, Alexis Lewis led offensively with nine kills and a .438 hitting percentage. Natalie Schmitz added seven kills, while Graves and Madi Malone each added four. Malone also served two aces alongside Johnson’s contribution of one ace.
The match was followed by a ceremony recognizing six seniors: Tatum Catalano, Bri Geurts, Lakyn Graves, Alexis Lewis, Czhen Beneby, and Madi Malone—who played their final game at the Klotsche Center.
Looking ahead to the postseason, Milwaukee will enter as the second seed in the Horizon League Volleyball Championship. They have secured a bye into the semifinals on November 23rd at Wright State’s CJ McLin Gymnasium. Their opponent will be determined from among Cleveland State, Green Bay, or Purdue Fort Wayne following Friday’s quarterfinals.
“We will get back to work in the gym this week and be ready to go next weekend,” Johnson stated confidently.
All championship matches are scheduled to be held at Wright State University with the final taking place on November 24th.
