Sept. 23, 2005

Box Score |  Notes

CHICAGO - Katarina Nedeljkovic had 19 kills and Maura McCarthy added 16 as the University of Illinois at Chicago claimed a 23-30, 30-22, 30-23, 30-24 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Friday night in the Horizon League opener for both teams.

Rachel Kuebbing had 13 kills, Leanne Felsing 11 and Sarah Moore 10 to lead the Panthers (7-6, 0-1 Horizon), who dropped their league opener for the first time since 2002.

The Flames (4-9, 1-0) pulled out a tight fourth game to claim the match. UWM fought back from a three-point deficit to claim a 24-23 lead on a UIC error. But the Flames scored the next seven points, capping their run with a service ace and a block.

Ambria Springer added 10 kills for UIC, which hit just .027 in the first game before hitting .317 in the second, .414 in the third and .216 in the fourth.

The Panthers, meanwhile, hit just .120 for the match and committed 34 hitting errors, as UIC controlled play at the net with 12 blocks.

The win snapped a 17-match win streak by the Panthers in the series.

UWM looked good in the first game, slowly pulling away. The Panthers took the lead for good at 13-12 on a UIC error. Another Flame error and a block by Monica Ferguson and Nicole Vilter pushed the lead to 15-12 before kills by Kuebbing and Moore edged the advantage to 22-16. After UIC pulled within three at 23-20, the Panthers answered with three-straight points to lead 26-20 and were never threatened from there. A kill by Ferguson made it 29-22 and UWM wrapped up the game on a UIC service error.

UIC had its way in game two, taking the lead for good at 7-6 and never looking back. The advantage hit 19-13 on a Springer kill and grew to 22-14 on a solo block by McCarthy. The Panthers pulled to within 27-21 on a Felsing kill but could never get any closer. A UIC block closed out the frame.

The Flames controlled game three, as well. They jumped to a 12-6 and never let the Panthers get back in the frame. The UIC lead hit 17-8 following three-straight UWM errors and two more Panther errors made it 21-11. A block by Springer and Katie Kozak pushed the Flame edge to 26-14, more than enough to hold off a late Panther rally. A pair of aces by Vilter pulled UWM to within 28-20 and a UIC error brought the Panthers within 29-23. But a kill by Nedeljkovic ended the game and put UIC in control of the match.

The Panthers continue their first weekend of Horizon League play Saturday at Loyola. The match begins at 4 p.m.