Sept. 3, 2005

Box Score |  Notes

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Rachel Kuebbing tallied 17 kills to lead a potent University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee attack to a 32-30, 30-27, 30-28 victory over Virginia Tech in the Hokie Fall Invitational Saturday afternoon.

Cheryl Hegemann and Leanne Felsing added nine kills while Sarah Moore added eight for the Panthers (3-2). Felsing also pitched-in with 14 digs and Becky Peters added 13.

The Panthers hit .252 for the match and committed just 19 hitting errors. Their defense, meanwhile, forced 28 errors while limiting the Hokies to a .182 hitting percentage.

Erin Brugger led the Hokies (1-1) with 14 kills, while Katie Esbrook and Sarah Munoz added 13 apiece.

The Panthers played their best match of the young season against a team that rolled over Georgetown in three games Friday night.

"We knew we had to be very good to beat them and we were," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau. "So far this season we've had two or three hitters play well in a match, but today everyone played well and that's what we need to beat good teams. We also served very well and took Virginia Tech out of its offense."

The Panthers pulled out all three games with strong play down the stretch.

In the first frame, UWM trailed most of the way, with the deficit hitting 15-8 midway through the game. The Panther rally started with six-straight points, pulling UWM within 15-14. The Hokies pushed the lead back to 20-14 and still led 22-16 after a solo block by Brugger.

From there, UWM rattled off 11-straight points behind the serving of Cheryl Hegemann. The Panthers took their first lead on a block by Moore and Felsing and pushed the edge to 27-22 on an ace by Hegemann. Virginia Tech rallied again, tying the game at 27 and again at 28, 29 and 30. But, a kill by Hegemann and a Hokie service error wrapped things up for the Panthers.

UWM used much the same formula in game two. Virginia Tech built a 16-12 lead and still led 22-21 following a kill by Esbrook. UWM grabbed the lead back with three-straight points and then took the lead for good at 26-25 on a kill by Melissa David. Two more kills by David and a kill by Hegemann closed out the frame.

In game three, the Panthers led early on before Virginia Tech rallied to take an 18-17 lead on a kill by Kendra Sytsma. The Hokies lead eventually grew to 23-20 and, after the Panthers fought back to tie the game at 24, they again rebuilt a 27-24 lead.

But the Panthers had one more push in them, scoring quick points on kills by Felsing and Kuebbing before eventually tying the frame at 28 on a Hokie error. Another error made it 29-28 before a block by Hegemann and McNab closed things out.

"We really finished things well late in each game," Litzau said. "We pushed hard to the finish, forced them into some errors and made some big plays."

The Panthers wrap up their stay at the Hokie Fall Invitational later Saturday, facing Georgetown at 5 p.m. EDT. The Hoyas have dropped each of their matches in the tournament.