MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (4-5) dropped a pair of matches to open the Panther Invitational Friday at the Klotsche Center.
 
Southeast fell to tournament host and head coach Julie Yankus' alma mater Milwaukee (6-1), 19-25, 17-25, 22-25, before losing a decision to Western Michigan (8-0) of the Mid-American Conference, 23-25, 18-25, 18-25. 
 
SEMO started its match against Milwaukee with a match best .241 hitting clip in the first set with 12 kills. 
 
A kill from Talia Gouard cut the early Panther lead to 11-8. Milwaukee then grew its advantage to 23-14 on a 4-0 run that included two Ari Miller rally stoppers. 
 
Colby Greene then added a pair of kills before Maggie Adams earned a solo block to make the score, 24-19. Jenna Miller then knocked a kill to give Milwaukee the first set.
 
In the middle frame, Southeast began with an 11-10 edge before a 5-0 rally by the Panthers distanced them from the Redhawks, 16-12. 
 
Laney Malloy slammed a kill before Milwaukee went on another run, this time five straight points. 
 
The Panthers closed out the second set, 25-17, to grab a 2-0 advantage in the match. 
 
Milwaukee jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the third set before SEMO stormed back after block assists from Greene with both Adams and Ochs. 
 
Adams then notched a kill to pull the Redhawks ahead by a point, 5-4. 
 
The Panthers doubled their lead with a 5-0 rally before SEMO cut the deficit to 16-12 after a block assist from Mikayla Kuhlmann and Adams along with a service ace from Ally Dion.
 
Adams and Ochs then brought the score to 23-19 with a block assist before a kill from Kleja Cerniauskaite closed out the match, 25-22.
 
Greene paced the Redhawks offense with seven kills. Malloy added six with nine digs and Gouard had four kills. 
 
SEMO out blocked the Panthers, 8-2. Adams totaled five and Malloy and Gouard each had two.
 
Ochs dished out 22 assists and Tara Beilsmith posted 17 digs. 
 
In the late afternoon, early evening match, Southeast met undefeated Western Michigan of the MAC. The Broncos took the first three points of the opening set before taking an 8-4 lead. 
 
WMU grew its advantage to 19-15 on a Maggie King rally stopper before extending that margin to 21-17 which prompted a Southeast timeout.
 
Out of the break, SEMO rallied six straight points to pull ahead 23-21. Greene knocked a kill to start the rally followed by a block from Adams. Malloy then had a kill and Dion delivered an ace. 
 
The Broncos then responded with four straight points to grab the opening set, 25-23. 
 
WMU continued that momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead and extending that advantage to 11-5. A kill from Meredith Phillips put the margin at 20-13.
 
Rally stoppers from both Adams and Malloy cut the deficit to 20-16. Malloy added another as SEMO came as close as 22-18.
 
Willow Martin then hit a kill, Charley Andrews chipped in an ace and Maggie King sealed away the second set win with a kill. 
 
Western Michigan stayed perfect in 2019 after a 25-18 third set. The Broncos began the frame with a 11-7 lead that became a 16-10 advantage after an ace from Kathleen Reilly. 
 
A kill from Malloy coupled with a pair of Broncos errors brought the score to 16-13. 
 
WMU then extended the distance with a 4-0 run, 22-15. 
 
Kuhlmann crushed a kill as the Redhawks fought to 24-17 before King hit a rally stopper to seal the win for the Broncos. 
 
Malloy paced the offense with nine kills and added 12 digs. Ochs had 20 assists with nine digs. 
 
Beilsmith led the defense with 23 digs. 
 
Southeast closes out the Panther Invitational Saturday against Butler (1-6) at 12 p.m. at the Klotsche Center.