Oct. 15, 2004

Box Score |  Notes

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Karen Fruit had 22 kills to lead five Panthers in double figures as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed a 31-33, 30-26, 30-26, 30-25 win over Cleveland State Friday night.

The Panthers (9-7, 5-1 Horizon) have now beaten the Vikings (10-5, 3-3) 20-straight times.

Leanne Felsing added 15 kills and Rachel Kuebbing 14 for UWM, which started the night one match back of Butler for first place in the Horizon League. Sarah Moore (11 kills) and Cheryl Hegemann (10 kills) also reached double figures for the Panthers.

Jamie Bouyer led Cleveland State with 14 kills.

UWM had another strong night defensively, with four players reaching double figures in digs led by Jamie Gabrielson's 14. Setter Melissa Lange also had a solid evening, collecting 62 assists to go with 12 digs.

"It was a very well-balanced match for our team," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "Mel did a great job spreading the ball out. Everyone contributed throughout the match."

The Panthers recovered from dropping the first game of the match by winning the final three frames. In the decisive fourth game, UWM held a small lead most of the way but still led just 20-19 following a kill by CSU's Emily Clark. The Panthers took control from there, though, scoring seven of the next eight points for a 27-20 lead. A kill by Felsing and two kills by Hegemann closed out the game and the match for the Panthers.

UWM took control of the match with a strong start in game three, though the Panthers nearly let their lead slip away. The Panthers led 11-6 following a kill by Fruit and quickly pushed their advantage to 18-10 following a kill by Kuebbing and an ace by Gabrielson. But CSU rallied, pulling within 26-24 on a service ace by Bouyer. A kill by Lange stunted the momentum, though, before kills by Hegemann and Moore helped UWM close out the frame.

UWM let the first game slip away before winning the second. In game one, the Panthers took a 20-16 lead on a Kuebbing kill and pushed the advantage to 22-17 on a kill by Moore. But CSU rallied to tie the game at 25 on a UWM error and neither team could get much of an edge from there. The Panthers did have game-point opportunities at 29-28 and 30-29, but the Vikings recovered from each, scoring their final three points on UWM errors.

The Panthers used a late run to rally in game two. Down 18-15, UWM scored four of the next five points to tie the game at 19. Then, after CSU bounced back to take a 24-22 edge, the Panthers put on a final push. A kill by Fruit tied the game at 25 and a kill by Felsing made it 27-25 UWM. A kill by Moore and a solo block by Hegemann wrapped things up for the Panthers.

UWM wraps up this four-match road stretch with a contest Saturday afternoon at Youngstown State.