Oct. 20, 2007

Box Score |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Jamie Gabrielsen had 24 kills and 19 digs while Leanne Felsing added her 14th triple-double of the season as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee remained atop the Horizon League with a hard-fought 30-26, 22-30, 30-18, 30-26 win over Youngstown State Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Center.

The outcome of each of the first three games was never really in doubt but the Panthers had to fight hard to pull out the fourth frame. In fact, Milwaukee trailed 24-20 before rallying. The Panthers tied the game at 25-all on a Felsing kill, grabbed a 29-26 lead on another Felsing kill and then sealed the game and match on Gabrielsen's sixth ace of the day.

Gabrielsen's six service aces marked a collegiate-best, while Felsing's line included 22 kills, 25 assists and 13 digs. Plus, UWM's defense was again strong, with five players reaching double figures in digs.

Jessica Fraley had 14 kills and Ebony Barbosa 13 for Youngstown State, which also posted 11 total blocks and had five players reach double figures in digs.

The Panthers (21-2, 11-1 Horizon), playing their final regular-season home game and coming off spirited wins over Marquette and Cleveland State, did just enough to hold off the Penguins (10-13, 4-8). UWM remained a full match ahead of the Vikings in the league standings, with CSU winning in Green Bay this afternoon.

"I think the ups and downs of this match were the direct result of having two emotional matches earlier this week," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "Youngstown State came to play and really took advantage of its opportunities. We were lackadaisical at times and were maybe thinking Youngstown wouldn't push us, but they definitely did push us.

"What I like is we made some definite and obvious changes at the break to take care of business in game three. Then, in game four, Youngstown was very good but we were good, too, and we did enough to win."

The two teams split the first two games, with each team riding a hot start to victory. In game one, UWM scored 11 of the first 12 points of the frame and never really looked back. YSU did cut the lead to 23-20 but the Panthers quickly rebuilt the edge to 29-22 before closing things out on a Becky Peters kill. Then, in game two, the Penguins jumped out to a 12-5 lead and UWM never mounted a serious rally. YSU led 26-17 after two-straight kills by Barbosa and eventually finished things out on a block by Fraley and Ruth Boscaljon.

The Panthers started quickly in the third game, jumping out to leads of 10-3 and 16-8. The Penguins cut the lead to six but would never get any closer. An ace by Gabrielsen pushed the lead to 23-12 and a kill by Felsing made it 26-14. Then, two kills by Gabrielsen finished the frame and gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead in the match.

Youngstown State looked like it would extend the match to a fifth game, building an 18-12 lead in the fourth frame. But, the Panthers fought back from that deficit, scoring 10 of the final 12 points of the game to wrap up the win and allow Milwaukee's five seniors to celebrate a happy Senior Day.

"Jamie and Leanne were great," Johnson said. "This was definitely a day where we needed our seniors to step up and those two did. We have a lot of people playing through injuries, it was a long week with three tough matches, but we came through. Now we can take a couple of days off before getting ready for Valpo Friday."

UWM's match at Valparaiso Friday night starts at 7 p.m. and kicks off a stretch of four-straight road contests to end the regular season for the Panthers.