Oct. 14, 2006

Box Score |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Nicole Vilter had a career-high 14 kills and Jamie Gabrielsen added 13 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team kicked off Panther Madness with a 30-22, 30-20, 30-21 win over Butler Saturday afternoon at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

The Panthers (13-5, 6-1 Horizon) hit .341 for the match to move into a first-place tie with UIC atop the league standings.

UWM also limited the Bulldogs (6-15, 1-6) to a .137 hitting percentage, with Becky Peters leading the defensive charge with 13 digs.

Michelle DeGeeter led Butler with seven kills.

"We didn't have to be perfect tonight, but we were very good at times," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "I thought we played some incredible defense and, anytime Butler tried to make a run, we did a good job of quashing it. They've gotten a lot of digs in their last few matches and I thought we made it very hard for them to defend us. Plus, Nicole Vilter continues to get some opportunities and she is definitely taking advantage of them."

The Panthers steadily pulled away in the first game. They turned a 14-13 lead into a 20-14 advantage behind a 6-1 run that included a pair of kills from Vilter. Butler did pull back within four points at 20-16, but UWM controlled the frame from there. A kill by Monica Ferguson made it 24-16 and a kill by Vilter made it 29-21 before a Butler error gave UWM the game.

Milwaukee then controlled game two from start to finish. The Panthers scored eight of the first nine points behind the serving of Leanne Felsing and Becky Peters, and still led 15-8 after a two-straight kills by Melissa David. The lead hit 22-14 on an ace by Gabrielsen and was 26-17 after two-straight Butler errors. Kills by Gabrielsen and David then gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Panthers again pulled away in the third game to record the sweep. UWM turned a 9-8 edge into a 17-9 lead with an 8-1 run. The lead hit 22-13 on a Butler error and reached double figures at 24-14 on a kill by Kellye Zaporski. UWM then led by as many as 12 points before emptying the bench. Kelley Olson recorded two late kills before walk-on Kelli Kunes recorded the final kill for the Panthers.

This match marked the halfway point of the league season, with UWM now tied atop the standings with UIC at 6-1. Litzau is pleased with how her team has progressed.

"We started the season as the hunted and we've handled it so far," Litzau said. "Certainly having a few more matches on the road will be challenging, but I think this week we've really turned things in a positive direction. Our senior leadership has been awesome and I see us continuing to get better."

UWM returns to action Wednesday night, hosting Oral Roberts in a non-league contest. The Panthers then return to league play at Youngstown State and Cleveland State next weekend.