Milwaukee City Wire

The Milwaukee Panthers women's volleyball team began their 2025 season with a loss to the Omaha Mavericks in straight sets at Baxter Arena in Omaha, Nebraska. The Mavericks showed strong offensive performance, committing only 12 errors and recording a .351 hitting percentage. Kali Jurgensmeier led Omaha with 16 kills and a .464 hitting percentage, while teammates Ella Tiarks and Faith Venable each contributed 10 kills.

"Omaha is a very physical team," said head coach Susie Johnson after the match. "They made it very difficult for us to score at the net."

Milwaukee finished with a .098 hitting percentage. Natalie Schmitz led the Panthers with seven kills. Bella Lipski recorded six kills and hit .364, while Sam Vanda also had six kills in her first collegiate game. Josie Noble and Ella Schuetz made their collegiate debuts as well, with Noble adding five kills and four blocks.

Defensively, Kara Erdmann had 17 digs for Milwaukee. Josie Johnson tallied six digs along with a team-leading 14 assists, while Milica Tomic added 10 assists.

"Our back row was fighting to keep up in the match," Johnson added.

Omaha took control early in the first set, building a seven-point lead before winning it 25-16. The second set was more competitive, with Milwaukee tying the score several times and briefly taking a lead on a kill by Schmitz. However, Omaha responded with a late run to secure the set. In the third set, an early surge from Omaha gave them enough momentum to complete the sweep.

"We look forward to making adjustments and coming back tomorrow to compete," finished Johnson.

The two teams are scheduled to play again on Saturday at Baxter Arena.