Sept. 30, 2005

Box Score |  Quotes |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Cheryl Hegemann had 14 kills to lead five University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee players in double figures as the Panthers claimed a 22-30, 30-12, 30-23, 30-20 win over Wright State Friday night at the Klotsche Center.

After dropping the first game, the Panthers dominated the final three frames in snapping a two-match losing streak.

Rachel Kuebbing added 13 kills for UWM (8-7, 1-2 Horizon), which also got 12 kills apiece from Melissa David and Leanne Felsing and 11 kills from Sarah Moore. UWM hit a season-best .327 as a team and committed just 10 hitting errors in the final three games after recording 11 of them in the first game.

Felsing led the way defensively with 12 digs, while Becky Peters added 11. And, senior Melissa Lange contributed an all-around effort of five kills, six blocks, six digs and 53 assists.

Alisha Kimbro led the Raiders (5-8, 1-2) with 11 kills.

"I really have to give our seniors credit for stepping up after the first game," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "Rachel made some changes and put the ball away and Mel did a great job of giving the hitters great passes. We did a good job of getting more people involved and making it more of a team effort."

The two teams split the first two frames, with each team dominating the game they won. In game one, Wright State took the lead for good at 13-12 on an error by UWM, and the Raiders quickly extended the lead to 15-12 on two more Panther errors. The advantage grew to 24-17 on a block by Kimbro and Lisa Griffith and hit 26-18 on a kill by Kimbro. UWM pulled within 26-21 but could get no closer. A kill by Jenny Schultz closed out the game for Wright State.

UWM rolled through game two, building a quick 10-3 advantage before never letting the Raiders back in the game. The lead hit 15-5 following back-to-back kills by Felsing and grew to 20-8 on another Felsing kill. The Panthers led 27-9 following a Wright State error and 29-10 on a kill by Lange. After two Wright State points, a kill by Felsing closed things out for the Panthers.

In game three, UWM scored eight-straight points to turn a 9-9 tie into a 17-9 lead. Hegemann had two kills during that run and then added another to push the lead to 21-12. A kill by Felsing made it 27-16 and, after Wright State rallied to within 29-23, a kill by Moore finished things off.

The Panthers controlled the fourth frame, as well, building a 20-8 lead on eight-straight points. Kills by Hegemann, Moore, Felsing and Peters highlighted the run, and Wright State would never get closer than nine points the rest of the way. An ace by Hegemann made it 28-17 and a block by Lange finished off the match.

"It was really nice to see a lot of different players on the team really take on the responsibility of helping the team win," Litzau said. "There was just a lot more team involvement as the match went on and it showed in the results."

UWM returns to action Saturday afternoon, welcoming Butler to the Klotsche Center for a 4 p.m. match.