Sept. 18, 2007

Box Score |  Notes

DEKALB, Ill. - Jamie Gabrielsen had 27 kills and 20 digs and Leanne Felsing added another triple-double as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee fought from behind to claim a 28-30, 28-30, 30-26, 30-24, 15-11 win over Northern Illinois Tuesday night.

The Panthers (11-1) have now won 11-straight matches since a season-opening loss at Wisconsin.

Felsing's triple-double included a stellar stat line of 20 kills, 19 digs and 36 assists. Meanwhile, Gabrielsen hit .356 and had 18 of her kills in the final three games.

Becky Peters added 12 kills and 15 digs for the Panthers, while Natalie Schmitting had 11 kills and Leanne Felsing tallied 24 digs. Milwaukee hit a solid .274 for the match but nearly saw 18 service errors become its undoing.

Meagan Schoenrock had 24 kills and Dani D'Ambrose added 16 for the Huskies (6-8), who won the Mid-American Conference Western Division last season.

UWM looked to be in deep trouble after dropping the first two frames and falling behind 19-16 in the third game. But, the Panthers fought from behind in that frame, gained some control of the match in the fourth game and then calmly pulled out the fifth game.

"I think we started to fight," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "We were pretty frazzled at the beginning and that hasn't happened much this year, and I think we were trying to figure out how to handle that. But we started to fight, we stayed aggressive and we stayed confident. I think we believed we could come back and win."

Milwaukee built an early 7-4 lead in the deciding fifth frame and extended it to 12-8 after a kill by Gabrielsen and a Huskie error. UWM's edge grew to 14-9 on a kill by Sueppel and another Huskie error but NIU responded by fighting off a pair of match points. Gabrielsen had the last word for the Panthers, though, ending another long rally with a kill to give Milwaukee the win.

UWM never found its rhythm in the first game, hitting just .110 while committing 10 errors. After trailing early, Milwaukee did take a 12-11 lead on a NIU error and eventually led 24-22 on a Gabrielsen kill. The Huskies tied the game at 25, but UWM scored the next two points for a 27-25 edge and it looked like the Panthers would pull out the win. But, a tip kill by setter Mandi Caputo gave NIU a 28-27 lead and, after a kill by Felsing, a UWM error and a NIU block wrapped things up for the Huskies.

The Panthers were done in from the service line in the second game, as UWM hit .356 but had six service errors. Milwaukee never led by more than two points before succumbing to a late surge by NIU. The final two-point edge came at 27-25 after a block by Felsing and Maddie Sueppel, but the Huskies quickly tied the game at 27. UWM took the lead back on a Felsing kill, but then two-straight Panther errors followed by a Caputo ace gave NIU a 2-0 lead in the match.

UWM came to life midway through the third game to get back in the match. The Panthers trailed 8-3 early in the frame and were still behind 18-15 at the midway point. But, UWM used a run of five-straight points to claim a 23-20 lead and extended the edge to 26-21 on a block by Gabrielsen and Sueppel. The lead was still 28-23 after a NIU error and, after the Huskies pulled back to within 29-26, a kill by Felsing wrapped up the frame.

NIU scored seven of the first nine points of the fourth game but Milwaukee rallied to take the lead for good at 15-14. Two-straight Huskie errors made it 17-14 and a kill by Felsing extended the Milwaukee edge to 22-16. NIU did pull back to within two at 24-22, but kills by Felsing and Gabrielsen restored a four-point edge and sent UWM on its way. The Panthers then closed out the frame with kills by Gabrielsen and Peters followed by a block from Sueppel and Peters.

"Leanne and Jamie were both really tough," Johnson said. "I don't think either one of them were going to let us lose. And I though Lauren really came through with a lot of digs at the right time and picked up our defense during the match."

The Panthers return to Horizon League action with a pair of home matches this weekend. UWM will face Butler Friday night before taking on Wright State Saturday.