MILWAUKEE, WI – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team lost 3-0 (20-25, 22-25, 20-25) to the Milwaukee Panthers at the Klotsche Center.
 
"Milwaukee was good in the critical spots at the end of each set," said head coach Ray Gooden. "We had chances and were a play or two away to put ourselves in a spot to win a set and extend the match."
 
Kennedy Wallace (Kansas City, Kan./Piper) and Brinley Milbrath (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/John F. Kennedy) led the NIU offense with nine kills each. Wallace also added a team-high four blocks. Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) dished out 33 assists and had two aces. Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) led the Huskies with 13 digs
 
NIU (3-9) and Milwaukee traded points to start the match, playing to a 6-6 tie. The Huskies broke the deadlock with a Kaitlyn Bell kill and Balensiefer ace to go up 8-6. NIU led 9-7 when the Panthers went on a 4-0 run to take an 11-9 lead. The Huskies responded with a 4-1 run, highlighted by three straight Wallace kills, to re-take the lead at 13-12. Milwaukee came back with the next four points to take a 16-13 advantage and force an NIU timeout. The Huskies got within one point at 20-19 on a block by Wallace and Peyton Tilly (Barrington, Ill./Barrington), but the Panthers won five of the last six points to win the opening set 25-20.
 
The second set started as a back-and-forth affair with NIU taking a 9-8 lead on a Milbrath kill. Milwaukee then went on a 5-1 run capped by kills from Carmen Heilemann and Jenna Miller to take a 13-10 lead. Sparked by two Bell kills, the Huskies won six of the next nine points to tie the set at 16 with a Karlen ace. With the set tied at 17, Milwaukee got three kills from Kleja Cerniauskaite in a 5-1 run to take a 22-18 lead. The Huskies got within one at 23-22, but a Heilemann kill and a Miller service ace put Milwaukee ahead 2-0 in the match with a 25-22 win.
 
Milwaukee (9-1) opened the third set on a 6-1 run, leading to an early NIU timeout. The Huskies responded with a 6-1 run of its own with a Wallace kill tying the set 7-7. NIU used a 5-0 run that included kills by Bell and Milbrath to take a 13-10 lead. The Panthers then used a Miller kill and a Rylie Vaughn ace to go on a 9-1 run that put Milwaukee ahead 19-14. The Huskies battled back to get within two at 21-19 on a Tilly kill. Milwaukee closed the set by winning four of the last five points to win the set 25-20 and the match 3-0.
 
The Huskies hit .245 for the match while Milwaukee hit .314. The Panthers held a 52-51 edge in digs while NIU had a 7.0-6.0 advantage in blocks.
 
"We knew we needed to scrap against Milwaukee and match their defensive intensity," Gooden said about NIU's defense Tuesday night. "I thought we did that with some solid serving, some timely blocks, and some pretty good defense."
 
NIU wraps up non-conference play this weekend at Bradley for the CEFCU Classic. The Huskies take on South Dakota on Friday, Sept. 19 at 12 p.m. before taking on the host Braves on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 2 p.m.
 
--NIU--