MATCH STATS
- UW-Milwaukee def. Northern Illinois 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-22)
- UW-Milwaukee improves to 2-2; Northern Illinois drops to 0-4
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Klotsche Center)
- Box Score
Milwaukee, Wisconsin – In a match of an emerging mid-major threat and one who made the NCAA Tournament in 2016, it was the emerging team (UW-Milwaukee) scoring a three-set sweep over a Huskies squad that went 25-6 last season.
UW-Milwaukee head coach Susie Johnson earned the 200th victory of her career in the win, as the Panthers came out on fire to the tune of a 25-12 first set. The next two sets would see Northern Illinois draw closer, but never enough to claim a set and further the match.
It was an overall great match for UW-Milwaukee, who hit .343 while suffocating the Northern Illinois offense to a .160 clip. Strong serving played into a rough defensive showing for UW-Milwaukee, as they totaled seven aces to one for Northern Illinois.
Caitlin Schultz led the way for the Panthers with 13 kills on a .360 hitting percentage while six others notched at least three kills in the match for UW-Milwaukee. Setter Jenn Dore distributed the attack as she netted 34 assists, 10 digs, four aces, three kills and a pair of blocks.
The win evens UW-Milwaukee back at .500 as they will look to get over that hump this weekend with matches against Fairfield, Samford and Loyola (IL). For Northern Illinois, they will look to get off the schneid as they head to Eugene to take on Oregon, Loyola Marymount and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
PRESS RELEASES
MILWAUKEE – Jenn Dore dished out 34 assists and guided the Panther attack to a .343 hitting percentage in an incredibly efficient 3-0 sweep of Northern Illinois Monday evening from the Klotsche Center.
Coming off a heartbreaking loss late on Saturday, Milwaukee bounced back in a big way and was dominant right from the start, never allowing the Huskies a chance to get their foot back in the game with the 25-12, 25-20, 25-22 win.
“We needed to tweak a few things (from the weekend); not big things, but we were really able to do that in this match today. I was really excited to turn it around so quickly,” Milwaukee head coach Susie Johnson said. “We were just really efficient and our passing was so much better. That is what we really focused in on Sunday. That made it a lot easier for our setter to make decisions and our hitters to finish, and we also were a lot better on the block.”
Caitlin Schultz led all players with 13 kills on .360 hitting in this one. Kylie Wilksadded another nine kills, and Bridget Wallenberger another eight.
Freshman Kailynn Mongan posted her third-straight double-digit performance in kills, tying the team high with 10. Jenn Dore also had 10 digs on the night for her second double-double of the young season.
Milwaukee also turned in a strong showing at the net defensively, with four players tallying at least two blocks on the night, led by senior Jess Kalous with four.
Kaylee Martin had 12 kills in the loss for NIU.
UWM was all over Northern Illinois in this one. The Panthers leapt out of the gates with the first three points of the match and a very quick 11-5 lead before the first NIU timeout. Milwaukee never took its foot off the gas and closed it out with a block by Wilks and Wallenberger for the big opening win.
The Panthers again jumped out quickly in set two, building another 11-5 edge early. The Huskies showed some fight, but Milwaukee was able to keep them at bay the whole way for the 25-20 win and the 2-0 lead at the break.
UWM faced its first deficit of the night in the third, trailing 3-0 early on. NIU continued to show fight, but the Panthers continued to exert their will when they needed it the most. Up by just one late at 20-19, Milwaukee got big kills by Wilks and Schultz to pull away before another thunderous slam by Schultz finished things off.
Also notable, Monday’s win was the 200th for head coach Susie Johnson.
Milwaukee now will have four days before its next action – a tournament just across the state line at Loyola. The Panthers will start the Rambler Challenge Friday at 11 am against Fairfield.
Courtesy of Northern Illinois:
MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team was unable to slow Milwaukee as the Panthers hit .343 in a 25-12, 25-20, 25-22 sweep of the Huskies on Monday night at the Klotsche Center. Freshman Kaylee Martin (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) recorded 12 kills to lead the Huskies.
“I think some things are trending upward,” said NIU head coach Ray Gooden. “I think we found a way in the third set to battle and get more offensive production, so those are positives. We just have to work on having better starts.
“I think we have to understand how we approach each event, and each event can be each play, each game, each match. I think at a certain point we finally get an understanding of what we need to do, so then we can go out and do it. But a lot of times we are chasing or trailing, so we have to understand how to come out that way from the get-go as opposed to building into that.”
In the first set, Milwaukee got off to a quick start as the Panthers took a 14-6 lead. After a kill by freshman Jori Radtke (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson) Milwaukee scored the next four to push its lead to 11 en route to taking the first set, 25-12. Milwaukee hit .385 in the opening set with 12 kills, Caitlin Schultz led the way with five kills in the set for the Panthers; Martin recorded four kills for NIU in set number one.
Milwaukee continued to its strong offensive start in the second set as the Panthers hit .324 with 15 kills. Milwaukee took a 14-7 lead in the second set before the Huskies battled back to within one, 19-18. Freshman Maddy Katchen (Fox River Grove, Ill./Cary-Grove) and sophomore Brinley Milbrath (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/John F. Kennedy) each had a pair of kills during the 11-5 burst that brought NIU back nearly even. The Panthers responded with the next three points to push their lead back to four however, as they went on to win the set, 25-20.
After the intermission, Milwaukee led the third set by four, 20-16, until three-straight points brought NIU within one. The Panthers scored four of the next five to take a 24-20 lead. NIU saved a pair of match points until a kill by Schultz gave Milwaukee the set, 25-22. The Panthers hit .333 in the final set with 17 kills. Martin hit .364 with six kills for the Huskies in the final set while Radtke hit .333 with five kills; Radtke finished the match with seven kills.
Schultz led Milwaukee with 13 kills, hitting .360, Jenn Dore recorded 34 assists for the Panthers while Dore and Kailynn Mongan each had 10 digs.
NIU will travel west this weekend to the Oregon Classic. The Huskies will meet Loyola Marymount and Texas-Rio Grande Valley on Friday, Sept. 1, before meeting the No. 14 Oregon Ducks on Saturday, Sept. 2.
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