Sept. 15, 2005

Box Score |  Notes

CINCINNATI, Ohio - Cheryl Hegemann had 19 kills and Becky Peters set a school record with 41 digs as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee pulled out a 30-28, 30-26, 19-30, 30-32, 16-14 win over George Washington Thursday.

After winning the first two games, the Panthers (6-4) looked to be on the ropes, trailing 13-11 in the fifth game. But, after rallying to tie the frame twice, the Panthers recorded a pair of blocks to get the victory in the opening match of the State Farm Bearcat Invitational.

Hegemann's 19 kills led a balanced offensive effort for the Panthers that included 17 kills from Rachel Kuebbing, 12 from Sarah Moore and 10 from Nicole Vilter.

Janine Brown and Kelly Kabbes led the Colonels (2-6) with 15 kills apiece.

The deciding fifth game saw UWM bolt to a quick start, as the Panthers grabbed a 7-2 lead following kills by Vilter, Keubbing and Moore. GW came back to tie the frame at 7 and eventually took a 13-11 lead. But, a Moore kill and a GW error made it 13-apiece and, after the Colonels took a 14-13 lead, a kill by Felsing again tied the game. Then, a block by Felsing and Vilter made it 15-14 before a block by Vilter and Kuebbing closed out the game and match in favor of UWM, giving the Panthers their first win in a five-game match this season.

"It is very nice to finally win a five-game match," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "We made some big plays when we needed to and we got contributions at different times from a lot of people. Nicole played very well off the bench and Becky got to a ton of balls. We can certainly play better than we did, but it is nice to get out with the win."

UWM appeared to be in control of the match after winning the first two games, but a GW rally pushed the Panthers to the limit.

The Panthers pulled out the first game with a late rally. George Washington led 25-22 following three-straight points, but the Panthers responded with four-straight - the final coming on a block by Kuebbing and Molly McNab - to grab a 26-25 advantage. GW tied the game at 26 and 27 before the Panthers took the lead for good at 28-27. The lead hit 29-27 on a block by Sarah Moore and Melissa David and, after GW closed to within 29-28, the Panthers closed out the game by forcing a GW hitting error.

UWM pulled out the second game with another late push. GW led 21-19 before the rally started, with the Panthers grabbing a 22-21 edge on a Nicole Vilter kill. UWM took the lead for good at 23-22 on a Kuebbing kill and eventually led 27-22 following a solo block by Vilter and a kill by David. GW rallied to within 28-26, but back-to-back kills by Hegemann closed out the frame for the Panthers.

GW got back in the match by controlling game three. The Colonels built a 15-9 lead on a UWM error and eventually extended it to 22-15 on another Panther error. GW pulled away from there to easily claim the frame.

The Colonels looked like they were again going to have an easy time in game four, leading most of the way and grabbing a game-point opportunity at 29-22. But the Panthers scored the next seven points, capped by a Hegemann kill and a block by Moore and Melissa Lange, to stay alive. UWM successfully fought off another game point at 30-29, but could not pull the game out. A UWM hitting error made it 31-30 and a GW block closed out the frame for the Colonels.

UWM continues its action in the tournament Friday, facing Jacksonville State at 10 a.m. EST and host Cincinnati at 7:30 p.m. EST.