Milwaukee City Wire

Milwaukee Panthers achieved a decisive victory over the Robert Morris Colonials, winning in straight sets at the UPMC Events Center. The win marks Milwaukee's seventh consecutive victory, bringing their league record to 14-2 for the season.

Madi Malone led Milwaukee with 12 kills, while Alexis Lewis and Natalie Schmitz contributed 11 kills each. Lewis achieved a .588 hitting percentage on 17 attempts with only one error. Josie Johnson recorded 20 assists, Milica Tomic added 17, and Kara Erdmann contributed seven assists along with 24 digs.

The Panthers secured three blocks each from Bri Geurts, Lakyn Graves, and Lewis. Rachel Scott added two blocks to the team's defensive efforts. The match scores were 25-23, 25-19, and 25-17 across the three sets.

Head coach Susie Johnson remarked on the team's performance: "Our response was great today after adjusting our game plan against Robert Morris, who really pushed us in yesterday's [five-set] match."

Milwaukee's offense delivered at least 13 kills in each set, peaking at 21 in the third set. Their defense limited Robert Morris to no more than 12 kills per set as the Colonials hit just .170 overall.

"We increased our service pressure and hit our spots better on the court to increase our kill total," Johnson stated. "We were balanced offensively with all of our kills, which is what we are always trying to achieve."

The Panthers outperformed Robert Morris with a kill advantage of 52-34 and led in assists (47-33) and digs (53-46). However, Robert Morris had an edge in aces with an 8-4 lead.

"I thought our composure and our ability to make adjustments went really well today," Johnson concluded. "I was really proud of our overall effort."

In the first set, Milwaukee overcame a late deficit by closing on a strong run highlighted by key plays from Malone and Graves. They maintained momentum into the second set with an impressive finish capped by Schmitz's ace.

Lewis and Schmitz led Milwaukee in the third set with six kills each as they secured an eight-point victory. The team hit .474 during this period with minimal errors.

Geurts ended her day with seven kills at a .385 hitting percentage; Scott also tallied seven kills at .333. Johnson matched her career-high with three kills.

For Robert Morris, Natalie Stepanovich led with nine kills and 15 digs. Katie Cook provided a team-high of 15 assists while Ashleigh Wallin added three aces alongside her own assists contribution.

Milwaukee will return home next weekend for matches against Cleveland State to conclude their regular season schedule.