Sept. 16, 2005

Box Score |  Notes

CINCINNATI, Ohio - Sarah Moore had 16 kills to lead three Panthers in double figures as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed a 30-25, 30-27, 28-30, 30-22 win over Jacksonville State Friday morning on the second day of the State Farm Bearcat Invitational.

Leanne Felsing and Cheryl Hegemann added 11 kills apiece for Milwaukee (7-4), which won its second-straight match.

One night after setting a school record by collecting 41 digs, freshman Becky Peters again sparked the Panthers defensively with 24 digs. UWM tallied 12 blocks as a team, led by six from Nicole Vilter, while limiting the Gamecocks to a .121 hitting percentage.

Suzi Terrell led Jacksonville State (3-6) with 18 kills, while Abbey Breit added 16.

UWM was much-improved offensively from Thursday night's five-game win over George Washington. The Panthers committed 50 hitting errors in that match but had just 21 Friday morning.

"We definitely played better," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "We terminated a lot better than we did last night. I'm very happy with Nicole Vilter's play in the middle for having never really played middle in a match for us before the last two nights. And Becky Peters was awesome again defensively, getting to a lot of balls."

The Panthers took control of the first game with a 10-2 run midway through the frame. The Gamecocks held a 12-10 advantage before UWM ran off six-straight points to grab a 16-12 edge. The lead grew to 19-14 on a block by Moore and Hegemann and hit 20-14 on a kill by Hegemann. JSU never really threatened from there, with a Moore kill making it 24-17 and a Rachel Kuebbing kill giving UWM a 25-18 lead. A kill and a solo block by Moore then closed out the game.

UWM pulled out a close win in game two, scoring the final three points of the frame to claim the victory. The Panthers led by as many as three points earlier in the game and still led 23-21 following a kill by Hegemann. The Gamecocks rallied to grab a 25-24 edge and, after UWM rallied for a one-point lead, tied the game at 27 on a kill by Terrell. But, the Panthers got a kill from Vilter, a block by Vilter and Melissa David and an ace by Breit Nelson to wrap up the game.

The Panthers could not pull out the third game despite a rallying to within a point after trailing 27-21. JSU actually controlled much of the game, using a five-point spurt to build a 16-10 advantage. A kill by Joi Watts pushed the Gamecock edge to 27-21 before UWM started to fight back. A block by Kuebbing made it 27-25 and a Kuebbing kill followed by a JSU hitting error made it 29-28. UWM couldn't extend the frame, though, as a service error gave the Gamecocks the final point they needed to stay alive in the match.

UWM then wrapped up the match by controlling game four. The Panthers took a 4-3 lead and never gave it back. A kill by Hegemann made it 13-8 and a kill by Kuebbing pushed the lead to 24-18. A kill and an ace by Felsing made it 26-19 and, after JSU rallied to within 27-21, the Panthers scored the final three points to wrap up the game and the match.

UWM, now 2-0 in the tournament, wraps up its play in the event Friday night, facing the hosts from Cincinnati at 7:30 p.m. EDT.