Sept. 21, 2007

Box Score |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Becky Peters had 13 kills and 13 digs while Leanne Felsing recorded her eighth triple-double of the season as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed a 30-18, 30-25, 30-12 win over Butler Friday night at the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers (12-1, 3-0 Horizon) have now won 12-straight matches. They hit a solid .267 in the match and were rarely threatened by the Bulldogs (6-7, 1-2), who hit just .126 and had 10 service errors.

Jamie Gabrielsen added 10 kills and Felsing tallied 10 kills, 13 digs and 37 assists while hitting .625. Lauren Felsing led the defensive charge with 16 digs.

Porshia Allen led Butler with 12 kills.

"I really liked how we came out in the third game and put the match away," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "We served tough, we dug balls to target, we hit higher and really did all of things we talked about between games two and three. Now we need to carry that into what we know will be a tough match tomorrow with Wright State."

The Panthers steadily pulled away in the first game. UWM took the lead for good at 6-5 on a Gabrielsen kill and eventually led 12-5 after a Butler error. The advantage grew to 16-7 on another kill by Gabrielsen and the Bulldogs never got closer than seven points the rest of the way. A kill by Peters made it 24-14 and two-straight kills by Nicole Vilter pushed the edge to 28-16. Milwaukee then closed out the frame on a Butler service error.

Game two was more of a struggle for UWM, as the Panthers had to fight from behind to claim the win. Butler led 12-9 after a block and still led 16-13 on a kill by Katie Daprile. But, the Panthers took the lead for good at 20-19 on a Bulldog error and moved the edge to 23-20 on a kill by Gabrielsen. Butler was still within two points at 26-24 but kills by Felsing, Peters, Gabrielsen and Nicole Vilter gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead in the match.

UWM put game three away quickly, scoring the first 11 points of the frame. The run came thanks to the strong service of Lauren Felsing, who had two aces in the run. The lead steadily grew from there, with the Panthers going up 20-6 on a kill by Peters and 26-9 on a kill by Natalie Schmitting. UWM then closed out the game on two kills from Vilter.

The Panthers convincing win was made all the more impressive by UWM's adjustment to another new lineup, as sophomore setter Kellye Zaporski was sidelined by injury. That kept Leanne Felsing as the exclusive setter as the Panthers played a 5-1 instead of their usual 6-2.

"I thought we adjusted to the lineup as the match went on," Johnson said. "It certainly showed in the third game and Leanne did an excellent job of attacking while setting all the time."

UWM returns to action Saturday afternoon, hosting Wright State in a 4 p.m. contest at the Klotsche Center.