Oct. 7, 2007

Box Score |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Leanne Felsing tallied her 10th triple-double of the season and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee held off a spirited Valparaiso rally in claiming a 30-18, 30-21, 33-35, 31-29 win Sunday afternoon at the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers (16-2, 7-1 League) have now won 16 of their last 17 matches and are tied for first place with Cleveland State at the midway point of the Horizon League schedule.

Felsing recorded 19 kills, 11 digs and 28 assists while hitting .529 in perhaps her best outing of the season. Jamie Gabrielsen pitched-in with 13 kills and 11 digs while Maddie Sueppel added 12 kills and nine blocks for Milwaukee, which had a season-high 16 blocks as a team.

Angie Porche had 19 kills and Val Bollenbacher added 16 for the Crusaders (14-6, 5-3).

With the return of Sueppel to the lineup and Kellye Zaporski posting a solid outing (31 assists, six digs, three aces) in just her second match back from injury, the Panthers were back at full strength for the first time since mid-September. That showed in the first two games as Milwaukee dominated. But Valpo, picked third in the Horizon League coaches' poll and a three-time NCAA qualifier since 2000, rallied to win the third frame and nearly snagged the fourth before the Panthers pulled out the victory.

"I think they started to play harder and we got a little relaxed after those first two games," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "We were so efficient and disciplined in the first two games and then we didn't block and pass well in the third game. That carried over at times into the fourth game and we had to fight hard to pull it out."

The Panthers broke open a close first game with a huge run, scoring 15 of the final 20 points in the game. After UWM bolted to leads of 5-1 and 9-3, the Crusaders pulled back to within 15-14 on a kill by Porche. But, UWM scored the next eight points to take control, going up 23-14 on a kill by Felsing. The lead hit 26-16 on another Felsing kill and was 29-16 after a Valpo error. Another kill by Felsing then wrapped things up for the Panthers.

A late surge allowed the Panthers to pull away again in game two. Milwaukee led 12-7 after a block by Gabrielsen and Sueppel but saw its lead cut to 20-18 on a kill by Porche. The Panthers then scored 10 of the final 13 points of the game, with two aces by Zaporski and two kills by Sueppel highlighting the run. A kill by Felsing wrapped up the frame, giving UWM a 2-0 lead in the match.

Milwaukee was unable to finish off the sweep in the third game. The Panthers let a 17-13 lead slip away and then had to fight off four game points before finally falling. Valpo grabbed a 34-33 lead on a Porche kill before a UWM error got the Crusaders back in the match.

The Panthers then looked to be in control of the fourth game, pulling out to a 13-9 lead before extended it to 22-15 on a block by Sueppel and Nicole Viler. The lead was still 24-17 after a kill by Gabrielsen, but that's when the Crusaders started their rally. They actually took the lead at 27-26 on a block by Porche and Katie Layman but could never expand their edge. After a 29-all tie, UWM won the match thanks to a kill by Sueppel and a Valpo hitting error.

"Leanne was great," Johnson said. "With us at full-strength around her, she looked like she was back to herself and she looked very comfortable out there. Maddie also did well and we really talked a lot about blocking. We made some changes and we were very disciplined."

UWM returns to action next weekend, hosting Loyola and UIC in Horizon League matches. Friday's match with the Ramblers kicks off Panther Madness at 7 p.m. at the Klotsche Center.