Aug. 31, 2007

Box Score |  Notes

BUFFALO, NY - Freshmen Maddie Sueppel and Sarah Sliva had 13 kills apiece as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee opened play in the Western New York Invitational with a 30-6, 30-13, 30-13 win over St. Francis (NY) Friday afternoon.

The Panthers (3-1) were in control the entire match while playing a young lineup most of the way.

UWM hit .448 for the contest, with Kelley Olson adding nine kills. Breit Nelson led the defensive charge with 12 digs while Becky Peters contributed 10.

St. Francis (0-5) was led by three different players with three kills apiece.

Milwaukee won the match easily despite having defending Horizon League Player of the Week Leanne Felsing rest the entire match and senior Jamie Gabrielsen play only part of the first game before resting for play Saturday. That allowed the Panthers to turn to their large group of youngsters to earn their most substantial playing time of the season.

"It was nice to see so many people get on the floor and to have that young group come together so well and really help each other out," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "Sarah and Maddie had very good approaches to the ball and really came through. It was a good confidence boost for a lot of our players heading into the challenges we will face down the road."

Milwaukee dominated the first game from start to finish, using runs of eight-straight and 10-straight points to cruise to the win. Two aces and a back-row kill by Gabrielsen gave UWM a 13-3 lead and then a block by Nicole Vilter and Sueppel followed by a kill from Sueppel pushed the lead to 18-4. With the lead at 20-6, Lauren Felsing served out the game for the Panthers. She had three-straight aces during the 10-point run that also included the first collegiate kill and first collegiate block by Sliva.

UWM also controlled the second game, building an early lead before cruising to the win. The Panthers led 11-5 after two-straight kills from Sliva and pushed the edge to 19-5 after three more kills by Sliva and an ace by Natalie Schmitting. The advantage hit 23-8 after back-to-back kills by Sueppel and UWM then closed out the frame on kills by Sliva and Natalie Chery sandwiched around a St. Francis hitting error.

Milwaukee steadily pulled away in the third game, taking the lead for good at 6-5 before pushing the lead to 21-8 following a run of seven-straight points. A kill by Schmitting and an ace by Breit Nelson pushed the edge to 28-11 before UWM closed things out on two kills by Olson.

The Panthers return to action Saturday with a pair of matches at the Western New York Invitational. UWM will face Fordham at 10 a.m. EDT before squaring off with Binghamton at 3:30 p.m. EDT.