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.