The Youngstown State volleyball team hit .480 to win the opening set but couldn't keep up with Milwaukee over the final three sets in a 3-1 loss to the Panthers on Friday. The set scores from the Klotsche Center in Milwaukee were 20-25, 25-21, 25-10, 25-18.

Paula Gursching led the Penguins with 15 kills while hitting at a .205 clip, and Josi Borum and Kiyah Franklin each had seven kills while hitting .278 and .357, respectively. Borum added 22 assists and three aces as YSU served aggressively with eight aces and 13 errors on the night.

Milwaukee hit a blistering .376, and six of their 11 errors came on blocks. The Panthers had 52 kills in 109 attempts, led by reigning Horizon League Player of the Year Ari Miller's 16 kills in 30 swings. Natalie Schmitz added 12 kills in 24 attempts, and Czhen Beneby had eight kills in 10 attempts. The Panthers had seven more kills, four more blocks and 11 more digs than the Penguins.

YSU's final deficit in the opening set was 6-5, and a Borum ace capped a 4-0 run that gave the Penguins an 8-6 lead. An ace by Gursching pushed the margin to 15-11, and the difference was at least three points until Milwaukee got within 21-19. Dayan Malave's kill from Isabel Schaefbauer gave the Penguins a sideout, and YSU went on to close out the set at 25-20 against one of the top contenders for the Horizon League title.

After hitting .480 in the opening set, YSU's attack percentage dropped in each of the final three sets. Milwaukee scored four of the first five points of the second set and never trailed as it tied the match with a 25-21 win, and the Panthers caught fire in the third to hit .536 and win 25-10.

The fourth set was the most closely contested of the night with eight ties and five lead changes, and Youngstown State last held the upper hand at 14-13. The Penguins trailed just 18-17 following a Gursching kill, but Beneby answered with a kill to start a 7-1 run for Milwaukee to end the match. Following the Beneby kill, Gursching hit long on a play that the Penguins challenged for a touch, and the Panthers blocked the sophomore outside hitter on the next point. YSU called timeout to try and stop the momentum, but an ace and back-to-back blocks pushed Milwaukee's lead to 24-17.

Youngstown State will try to earn a split on its Wisconsin trip tomorrow as it takes on Green Bay at 3 p.m. Eastern.