Sept. 1, 2006

Box Score |  Notes

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Sarah Moore tallied 13 kills to lead a balanced University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee attack in a 30-28, 30-10, 30-22 win over Ball State Friday morning in the first match of the Bama Bash.

Jamie Gabrielsen and Cheryl Hegemann added 12 kills apiece while Monica Ferguson pitched-in with 11 as the Panthers (2-2) hit an impressive .312 for the match.

Milwaukee's defense was just as stellar, limiting Ball State to an .064 hitting percentage. Becky Peters had 14 kills and Leanne Felsing added 13 to lead the defensive charge.

Julie Breivogel and Angie Parrell had six kills apiece to lead Ball State (1-3).

After nearly letting the first game slip away, UWM dominated games two and three in grabbing its second win of the young season.

"We were just really in synch, and that made it very hard for Ball State to get into any kind of rhythm," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "Leanne did a great job of getting the ball to a lot of hitters and by mixing it up we really kept them off-balance. That's a very good program and a very good coach, so this is a nice win for us."

The Panthers controlled much of the first frame before nearly letting it get away twice. UWM led by as many as four points early in the game and, after Ball State tied it at 11, Milwaukee rebuilt a five-point lead at 19-14 on a Monica Ferguson kill. But, behind an 8-1 run that included three-straight Panther errors, the Cardinals grabbed a 22-20 advantage, forcing UWM to use a timeout. The Panthers responded, scoring eight of the next 11 points to claim a 28-25 lead. Once more, though, Ball State fought back, scoring three-straight to tie the game at 28. But, UWM came through when it counted, as kills by Gabrielsen and Ferguson gave game one to the Panthers.

UWM controlled game two from start to finish. The Panthers built a quick 9-2 advantage behind three kills from Gabrielsen and two kills from Moore. The lead hit 15-5 following a Melissa David kill and was 18-5 after a UWM block, leaving Ball State to empty its bench looking for a solution. The Panthers did not let the Cardinals back in the game, though, pushing the lead to 21-8 on a Cheryl Hegemann kill and then to 27-9 after three-straight service aces from David. Two kills by Ferguson and another by Moore finished out the frame for the Panthers.

Milwaukee also rode a quick start to victory in game three. UWM took a 10-6 lead on a Felsing kill and extending it to 16-10 on a kill by Gabrielsen. Two-straight kills by Ferguson extended the advantage to 19-11 before a Ball State error gave UWM a 21-12 lead. The lead eventually hit double-digits at 25-15 on a kill by Hegemann and, after the Cardinals rallied to within six points, two kills by Moore closed out the game and the match for the Panthers.

It took a while for the match to find its stride, as a series of disputed calls against both teams - including a yellow card on the Ball State bench and five ball-handling errors on UWM - slowed game one to a crawl. But, once the Panthers settled in early in game two, they never let up.

"Once we focused on just playing, we were much better," Litzau said. "Our defense was outstanding and our serves were very good. It made it difficult for them to set the ball to the net."

UWM continues play in the tournament later in the day on Friday, squaring off with Mercer at 4:30 p.m. The Bears and host Crimson Tide were scheduled to play at 12:30 p.m.