Sept. 1, 2005

Box Score |  Notes

CHARLOTTE, NC - Rachel Kuebbing collected 20 kills and Sarah Moore added 13 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed a thrilling 30-28, 30-19, 22-30, 30-28 win over Charlotte Thursday night at Halton Arena.

The Panthers (2-1) appeared to be in control after winning the first two games, only to see Charlotte (0-2) control game three and nearly pull out game four. UWM scored the final four points of that fourth frame to rally and claim its second win of the season.

Cheryl Hegemann added nine kills while four Panthers reached double figures in digs, led by 13 apiece from Leanne Felsing and Becky Peters.

UWM hit .225 for the match and forced 32 Charlotte hitting errors. Abbey Szlanfucht led the 49ers with 23 kills.

"We were very good in the second half of game one and all of game two," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "Then we kind of lost our legs in the third game and really gutted it out in game four. Rachel was awesome and I was very impressed with our serve, especially in the first two games."

The Panthers pulled out a wild game four where they led early and rallied late. The Panthers had a 15-9 lead following back-to-back Charlotte errors and still led 17-11 after a Melissa David kill. But the 49ers scored six-straight to tie the game at 17 and the frame was tight from there. A Kuebbing kill made it 23-22 UWM and a Peters ace pushed the lead to 24-22.

But, Charlotte responded with six of the next eight points to lead 28-26 and move to the verge of forcing a fifth game. Instead, a Charlotte service error started the UWM comeback, with a Molly McNab ace then tying the game at 28. A 49er hitting error made it 29-28 and a Moore kill that barely touched the ground before being dug finished the match in dramatic fashion.

UWM rallied from a slow start to win a well-played first game. The 49ers built an early 12-6 lead before the Panthers scored three-straight points, capped by a Moore kill, to close to within 12-9. UWM eventually tied the frame at 16 on a McNab kill and took the lead for good at 19-18 on a block by Moore and Hegemann. The lead grew to 23-19 on a kill by Hegemann and the Panthers hung on from there.

The 49ers did pull within 27-26 on a Jessica Oldenburg kill, but following a UWM timeout, Melissa David responded with a kill of her own to push the lead back to two. Charlotte was able to pull within one point on two more occasions, but each time UWM responded, eventually closing out the game on a kill by Moore.

The Panthers, specifically Kuebbing, dominated game two from start to finish. They scored the first seven points of the game and, after the 49ers closed to within 9-4, scored six of the next seven points to grab a 15-5 edge. Kuebbing rolled off four-straight kills during that run and had 10 in the frame. The lead grew as large as 15 points at 28-13 as the Panthers cruised to a 2-0 lead.

UWM couldn't overcome a slow start in the third game, allowing Charlotte to creep back into the match. The 49ers built an 11-6 lead and then never let the Panthers closer than four points the rest of the way. The lead was 22-16 before a kill by Moore and a block by Kuebbing and McNab brought the Panthers closer. But, as they did throughout the game, the 49ers responded, rebuilding the lead to 27-19 before closing things out.

UWM continues its weekend away from home Friday, facing off with Mississippi State in the opening match of the Hokie Fall Invitational.