Milwaukee’s volleyball team secured a 3-0 victory against Youngstown State Penguins, enhancing their Horizon League record to 9-2. The Panthers dominated the first two sets with scores of 25-16 and 25-9. In the third set, Milwaukee overcame a deficit, trailing 21-14 before launching an impressive 11-1 rally to complete the sweep.
Head coach Susie Johnson praised Youngstown State’s effort in the third set but emphasized her team’s need for efficiency. “At the timeout, I told our team we have to clean up our side, be more efficient and take care of the ball on our side better … and we definitely responded,” she said.
Lakyn Graves contributed significantly during Milwaukee’s final push with two kills and a block, ending the match with ten kills on a .667 hitting percentage. Madi Malone led with 13 kills as Milwaukee totaled 43 kills from 40 assists. Josie Johnson recorded half of those assists with a total of 20.
Natalie Schmitz tied her career-best with four service aces and added eight kills. On defense, Kara Erdmann led with 19 digs while Malone had nine and Kati Goba added eight.
Johnson expressed pride in her team’s performance: “I was really proud of our team for their consistency,” she stated. “We were passing, setting, hitting, and doing all the things right today which we have been working towards all season.”
Graves shone in the first set with seven kills and two blocks as Milwaukee took an early lead thanks to Schmitz’s service run. Graves sealed the set win with an ace.
The second set saw Milwaukee commit only one hitting error while achieving a .429 hitting percentage. Alexis Lewis, Malone, and Rachel Scott contributed crucial points during this period.
In the third set comeback, Graves’ kill regained service for Tomic who helped orchestrate an eight-point streak leading to victory after YSU scored once more.
Youngstown State’s Abbie Householder led her team with eleven kills and eight digs. Teagan Ng and Nyia Setla each added eight digs while Isabel Schaefbauer managed sixteen assists for YSU.
Looking ahead, Milwaukee will face Green Bay Phoenix at Klotsche Center on Tuesday evening as they aim to keep pace with league leaders Wright State (10-1).
