Oct. 20, 2006

Box Score |  Notes

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cheryl Hegemann had 16 kills and Leanne Felsing recorded a triple-double as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee earned a hard-fought 28-30, 30-22, 30-27, 30-27 win over Cleveland State Friday night at Woodling Gymnasium.

Felsing tallied 12 kills, 20 digs and 24 assists for her first triple-double of the season and a school-record seventh for her career. Sarah Moore added 13 kills and Melissa David had 11 as the Panthers (15-5, 7-1 Horizon) won for the 25th time in their last 26 meetings with Cleveland State.

Also, when combined with UIC's five-game loss at Wright State Friday night, UWM has reclaimed sole possession of first place in the Horizon League.

Kayla Lefeld led the Vikings (14-6, 4-4) with 14 kills.

It was each team's defense that stole the show in the very competitive match. UWM tallied 76 digs, led by 23 from Becky Peters, and added 13 blocks while limiting CSU to a .124 hitting percentage. But, the Vikings were just as strong defensively, collecting 75 digs and 13 blocks while limiting the Panthers to a .140 hitting clip.

In the end, though, the Panthers overcame a strong effort by the Vikings and an injury to outside hitter Jamie Gabrielsen to claim an important league road win. Felsing helped key the win as both a setter and a hitter, and freshman Kellye Zaporski added 25 assists as the Panthers switched from a 5-1 alignment to a 6-2 during the match.

"It was definitely a dogfight. We had to earn every point and really earned this win," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "Both teams played great defense. Offensively, we moved to a 6-2 from a 5-1 late in game one and then stuck with it when Jamie was out. The way Leanne played as both a setter and as a hitter was one of the big keys to our victory. She approached for a kill every time and it seemed like she got one almost every time."

After UWM dropped the first game, it won the next three frames to claim the win.

The Panthers bounced back quickly from their game one loss to control game two. They jumped out to an 11-6 lead and then never let the Vikings any closer than four points the rest of the way. UWM's lead hit 16-9 on a kill by Felsing and grew to 19-11 on a kill by David. After CSU closed to within six points, a kill by Hegemann and a block by Moore and David helped restore an eight-point edge for the Panthers. UWM wasn't threatened from there, as an ace by David and a kill by Nicole Vilter finished things off for Milwaukee.

Game three was tight most of the way, with UWM finally breaking free from a 21-all tie with kills from Felsing and Hegemann. CSU did pull back to within 23-22 but would never get that close again. A kill by David gave UWM a 25-22 edge and a kill by Moore made it 29-25 before another late-game kill by Vilter gave UWM a 2-1 lead in the match.

It looked like UWM might then have an easier time of things in game four, bolting to an 18-12 lead following a 7-1 run. But, the Vikings countered with 11 of the next 17 points to pull within 24-23 and put the pressure back on the Panthers. UWM responded, though, as a CSU error followed by a block from Felsing and Hegemann restored the lead to three points. The Panthers hung on from there, closing out the match thanks to a solo block by Moore and a kill by David.

The Vikings had pulled out a win in a tight first game. UWM built a 21-18 lead on a pair of blocks and a CSU error, but the Vikings scored the next five points to reclaim a 23-21 advantage. The Panthers pulled back to within a point on a kill by Moore and returned to within a point on two other occasions, but could never force another tie. The Panthers were still within 29-28 on a Felsing ace but the Vikings then closed out the frame on a UWM error.

UWM continues its weekend road trip to Ohio with a Saturday afternoon contest at Youngstown State.