Oct. 13, 2006

Box Score |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Sarah Moore tallied a career-high 19 kills to lead four players in double figures as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed a 22-30, 30-19, 30-24, 30-18 win over Wright State Friday night at the Klotsche Center.

Jamie Gabrielsen just missed out on a triple-double, tallying 12 kills, 11 digs and nine assists. Cheryl Hegemann added 15 kills and 16 digs while Nicole Vilter had 11 kills off the bench for UWM (12-5, 5-1 Horizon).

Lizzy Gun led Wright State with nine kills.

The Panthers shook off a slow start to control the final three frames against the Raiders (10-11, 4-2), who had won nine of their last 12 matches entering the contest. UWM dominated the match on offense, collecting 74 kills to just 44 for Wright State, with Moore sparking the Panthers' solid effort in games two through four.

"Sarah Moore was fantastic tonight," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "It really didn't matter what they did to her, she just kept putting the ball away. And, she was very strong with her block, too. She saw the whole court and was just really on the whole night."

After committing 13 hitting errors in the first frame, UWM had just 16 over the final three games. And, the Panthers wound up landing four players in double figures offensively for the second-straight match.

"It was great to see us get some support off the bench from Nicole Vilter, and the large number of contributors continues to make us very hard to defend," Litzau said. "Wright State was very good in game one and we were a little flat in all areas, but we bounced back and played well the rest of the night."

The Panthers took the advantage in the match with a strong push down the stretch in game three. UWM trailed 20-19 after a kill by Alisha Kimbro but scored the next eight points behind the serving of Becky Peters. Moore had three kills during the run, which also included a pair of UWM blocks. Then, after the Raiders pulled within 29-24, a kill by Hegemann gave Milwaukee a 2-1 lead in the match.

UWM then wrapped up the match with a convincing win in game four. The Panthers scored the first five points behind the serving of Leanne Felsing and quickly extended their lead to 11-5 on a kill by Hegemann. The lead hit 17-9 after a kill by Gabrielsen and was 22-10 following a kill by Vilter. Wright State would never get the lead under double digits from there, as kills by Monica Ferguson and Vilter finished things off for the Panthers.

The two teams split the first two games, with each team dominating most of the way in the game it won.

In game one, the Raiders turned a 7-6 deficit into an 18-9 lead and were never really threatened from there. UWM did pull within 19-15 on back-to-back kills by Moore and again to within 22-18 on a kill by Ferguson But, kills by Tara Geegan and Lindsey Frank restored the advantage to six points before the Raiders pulled away for the win.

UWM bounced back quickly in game two, jumping to a quick 11-5 lead and then never letting the Raiders get any closer than five points the rest of the way. A kill by Hegemann made it 18-11 and a kill by Ferguson extended the lead to 22-14. Two more kills by Moore gave UWM a 26-16 lead and then another kill by Moore along with a kill from Hegemann gave the Panthers the game and evened the match.

UWM returns to action Saturday afternoon, hosting Butler at the U.S. Cellular Arena as part of Panther Madness. The volleyball action begins at 4 p.m. and admission is free.