Nov. 19, 2006

Box Score |  Notes

DAYTON, Ohio - Monica Ferguson tallied a collegiate-best 17 kills and Melissa David added 13 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee swept past UIC, 30-24, 30-23, 30-22, to claim the Horizon League Tournament title.

The regular-season champion Panthers (24-5), who have won a school-record 15-straight matches, advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002.

Cheryl Hegemann added nine kills while tournament most valuable player Sarah Moore pitched-in with eight for UWM, which showed off its offensive balance and hit .302 in the contest.

Ambria Springer led UIC (17-17) with 14 kills, but the Panthers never let the Flames get on track.

"I am just so proud of this team and so proud of the seniors with the way they stepped up," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "This team came into this match on a mission, and they weren't going to leave this gym without a championship."

In fact, UWM never trailed after the early points of each game and UIC never got closer than five points late in any of the three games.

"At times this weekend, I thought we played not to lose. But today, we clearly played to win," Litzau said. "Any time we got rattled in the match, we never let it become a long run and we maintained control. We were composed and relaxed and didn't sit back waiting for UIC to make an error. We were the aggressors and made the plays."

UWM took the lead for good in the first game at 15-14 on a kill by Leanne Felsing. The lead grew to 19-15 on a UIC error and then to 21-16 on a kill by David. The Flames would get no closer than three points the rest of the way, with an ace by Felsing making it 25-19 and a kill by David pushing the edge to 26-19. The Panthers then closed out the frame on a tip kill by Ferguson.

Milwaukee found the going a little easier in the second game, taking the lead for good at 6-5 and quickly building the edge to 11-5. After UIC closed to within a point at 16-15 and again at 17-16, the Panthers responded with kills from Jamie Gabrielsen, Felsing and Ferguson to lead 20-16. An ace by Hegemann pushed the lead to 24-18 and a kill by David made it 27-19, putting UWM in control. The Panthers then closed out the game on a kill by Ferguson.

The Panthers pulled away again in the third game. They took the lead for at 5-4 and then made it 19-13 on a Ferguson kill. The advantage grew to 24-16 on a kill by David and hit 25-16 on a kill by Moore. The Flames tried to mount one final rally, pulling within 27-22 on a UWM error. But, the Panthers responded with the final three points to clinch the title. A kill by Ferguson started the final burst, with a block from Hegemann and Ferguson and a UIC error wrapping things up.

"It was so great to see Monica and `D' play so well on the outside. At times, we have had to rely on Cheryl and Sarah in the middle, and those two did play well and did their jobs," Litzau said. "But it was great to see us have so many people really bang away at the net tonight."

UWM will now await its NCAA Tournament pairing. The announcement of the field is Sunday, Nov. 26.