Sept. 23, 2006

Box Score |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Melissa David had 15 kills and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee hit a stellar .333 for the match to claim a 30-23, 30-14, 30-24 win over Cleveland State Saturday at the Klotsche Center.

Cheryl Hegemann added 13 kills while Sarah Moore had 12 as the Panthers (8-4, 2-0 Horizon) snapped the Vikings' (11-3, 1-1) nine-match winning streak.

In a battle between the top two teams in the Horizon League a season ago, UWM controlled the match from start to finish. The Panthers hit above .300 in every game and beat the Vikings in nearly every statistical category.

Liz Fazio led Cleveland State with 12 kills.

"I was really very happy with how we played from beginning to end," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "Even when Cleveland State pushed us, we didn't let them do it for very long. Last night (against Youngstown State) I thought we backed down at times, but tonight we were able to step up our play."

UWM also kept things in control thanks to strong serving, collecting seven service aces while also riding the service effort to a number of extended runs.

"Our serve was incredible," Litzau said. "Seven service aces doesn't really tell the story because there were so many other times we were able to get them out of system. Their middles are very strong but they couldn't get the ball to them because of our serving."

The Panthers made a late push to pull out a tight first game. UWM broke a 14-all tie with four-straight points and eventually pushed the lead to 23-17 on a kill by Moore. CSU did pull back within four at 27-23, but the Panthers claimed the final three points to clinch the game-one win. Kills by Hegemann and David along with a block by the pair provided the final margin for UWM.

Milwaukee dominated the second game en route to a commanding lead in the match. The Panthers scored five of the first six points and, after CSU pulled to within 10-9, used a 6-0 run to claim a 16-9 lead. The lead grew to 20-11 after back-to-back blocks by Moore and the Panthers then ran away with the game behind the serving of Felsing. Three kills by Moore highlighted the late 9-0 run, with a block by Moore and Gabrielsen finishing the game for UWM.

UWM then overcame a slow start to pull away in game three. The Panthers did lead 10-5 early but the Vikings rallied to grab a 15-13 lead. UWM scored eight of the next 10 points to claim a 21-17 advantage and then maintained control from there. Kills by Felsing and Monica Ferguson made it 25-19 and a kill by Hegemann pushed the lead to 27-20. A final kill by David sealed the match and a 2-0 league start for the Panthers.

"The way we played really shows in our hitting percentage," Litzau said. "Melissa David had another strong game and Cheryl and Sarah really played well in the middle. Plus, Leanne did a good job of getting everyone the ball."

UWM returns to action next Friday night, hosting UW-Green Bay at the Klotsche Center. The match begins at 7 p.m.