Milwaukee City Wire

The Milwaukee volleyball team faced a narrow defeat against Wright State on Saturday, losing in a five-set match that concluded with a 15-13 score in the final set. Despite their loss, Milwaukee's junior player Kara Erdmann set a new program record by achieving 47 digs during the game. The Panthers collectively recorded 118 digs as a team.

Head coach Susie Johnson remarked on the performance, stating, "The difference in the fifth set, and throughout the match, was their middles played exceptionally well and were unstoppable at times." She also acknowledged her team's effort: "Overall, I thought our team fought really hard and showed a lot of grit today, but we weren't able to come out with the result we were looking for."

Milwaukee started strong by winning the first set 25-13. However, Wright State responded with two consecutive wins of 25-23 each. The Panthers regained momentum in the fourth set with a 25-15 victory but ultimately fell short in the decisive fifth set.

Key performances from Milwaukee included Madi Malone's 20 kills and Natalie Schmitz's contribution of 13 kills. Alexis Lewis added ten kills while Rachel Scott contributed nine with notable hitting percentages. Josie Johnson led assists with 25 while Milica Tomic had 23 assists.

Erdmann's record-setting achievement was supported by Malone's additional 18 digs and Tomic’s 16 digs. The team's total digs were close to breaking another program record previously set in 2000 against Wright State.

Coach Johnson expressed pride in her team's development: "I'm proud of this team... We're going to continue to grow and get better and today was just a part of that process."

In other match highlights, Lakyn Graves achieved five blocks for Milwaukee while Lewis, Schmitz, and Scott each recorded four blocks. Despite challenges faced during some sets due to errors, Milwaukee managed to refocus later in the game.

Wright State's Reilly Zegunis secured the final point for her team after strong performances from Taylor Bransfield and Lauren Yacobucci who contributed significantly with kills and assists respectively.

Milwaukee will conclude its non-conference play next Tuesday against Marquette at Al McGuire Center.