Sept. 22, 2006

Box Score |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Melissa David had 17 kills to lead four players in double figures as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee overcame a slow start to claim a 27-30, 30-11, 30-13, 30-25 win over Youngstown State Friday night in the Horizon League opener for both teams.

Sarah Moore and Cheryl Hegemann added 14 kills apiece for the Panthers (7-4, 1-0 Horizon), who won their Horizon League home opener for the 11th-straight season. Monica Ferguson also pitched in with 10 kills for UWM, which hit .292 in the match.

Ebony Barbosa had 14 kills to lead Youngstown State (8-9, 0-1).

Becky Peters led UWM in the back row with 18 digs and was one of three Panthers to reach double figures in digs. Hegemann contributed 10 digs and eight blocks in coming up just short of a triple-double.

UWM stumbled through the first game, allowing YSU to hit .282 while surrendering a 25-21 lead. But, the Panthers responded well from there to claim their 12th-straight win over the Penguins.

"Our hitters had to work harder and change their shots, which they did by the second game," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "I thought we got more aggressive in games two and three. Our approaches were more aggressive after we seemed tentative early on. But in game four, we kicked back and relaxed a little bit again, and you just can't do that in league play."

The Penguins took advantage of a sluggish UWM side in the first game, jumping to an early lead in the match. The Panthers seemed to be gaining control of the game in building a 17-13 lead following two YSU errors and a pair of UWM blocks. After YSU tied the game at 21, the Panthers again moved ahead, scoring four-straight for a 25-21 advantage. But, the Penguins had the better of the play down the stretch, tying the game at 27 before adding the final three points for the win. The late run was helped by two UWM service errors and a Panther hitting error.

UWM wasted little time in regaining control of the match with an easy in game two. In fact, after leading just 5-4 early on, the Panthers outscored the Penguins, 25-7 the rest of the way. The big lead was sparked by an 11-0 burst behind the serving of David and included two kills by Ferguson and a pair of UWM blocks. The lead eventually grew to 29-9 before YSU added two points to their tally. A Penguin service error then wrapped things up for the Panthers.

The Panthers again dominated in game three, turning a 7-6 lead into a 20-9 advantage behind two kills by Moore and three UWM blocks. The Penguins then got no closer than 10 points the rest of the way, as three kills by Hegemann followed by kills from David, Moore and Jamie Gabrielsen helped the Panthers close out the frame.

UWM then fought its way to the win in game four. The lead was 13-9 after a kill by Ferguson and was still 21-17 following a kill by Hegemann. YSU did pull within two at 25-23 and again at 26-24, but the Panthers made the final push to wrap up the match. Two UWM blocks and another kill by Hegemann finished things off for the Panthers.

The Panthers continue their weekend homestand Saturday afternoon by hosting Cleveland State at the Klotsche Center. The match begins at 4 p.m.