Aug. 25, 2007

Box Score |  Notes

MADISON, Wis. - Leanne Felsing collected her second-straight triple-double to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to a 30-21, 30-17, 33-31 win over Gardner-Webb Saturday afternoon at the InnTowner Invitational.

Felsing tallied 18 kills, 11 assists and 10 digs while hitting .486 for the match. Jamie Gabrielsen added 16 kills and 18 digs for Milwaukee. Plus, one match after seeing four players tally 20 or more digs, the Panthers (2-1) had five players reach double figures in digs, led by 20 from Becky Peters.

Ashley Pridgeon had 12 kills to lead Gardner-Webb (0-3), which hit just .108 in the match.

Milwaukee also got solid contributions from three freshmen, with Maddie Sueppel, Natalie Schmitting and Kerri Schuh adding six kills apiece.

"We had a lot of different lineups out there, especially in the third game, and people came through," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "It was good to see some of the freshmen put into a stressful situation and deliver."

The Panthers used a late surge to pull away in the first game. After UWM built an early lead, Gardner-Webb grabbed a 16-15 edge on a Panther error. But, Milwaukee responded to the deficit by scoring nine of the next 11 points to claim a 24-18 advantage. Kills by Gabrielsen and Felsing pushed the lead to 28-21 before a block by Nicole Vilter and Schmitting plus a Bulldog error at the net gave the first game to the Panthers.

Milwaukee was in control of game two from the outset, building a quick 9-5 lead and then never letting Gardner-Webb closer than four points the rest of the way. In fact, the Panthers pushed the edge to 12-5 on a Schmitting kill and then to 22-14 on a Schuh kill. After G-W closed the gap to 23-17, the Panthers finished the game with a 7-0 run. Felsing had three kills during the spurt that also included kills from Gabrielsen, Schmitting and Kellye Zaporski.

UWM then had to fight hard to pull out the third game. The Panthers led most of the way only to see the Bulldogs tie the game at 25 and then fight off four match points. But, kills by Gabrielsen and Felsing provided the final surge for Milwaukee.

"I think it is a really good sign for this season that we can push through and win in tight situations," Johnson said. "We had the five-game match earlier today and then really had to fight through this third game tonight."

UWM returns to action next weekend, playing three matches at the Western New York Invitational in Buffalo, NY.