Sept. 28, 2007

Box Score |  Notes

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Jamie Gabrielsen had 17 kills and 15 digs while Natalie Schmitting added 11 kills and six blocks as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee captured a 30-25, 30-25, 29-31, 30-19 win over Youngstown State Friday night at the Beeghly Center.

The Panthers (14-1, 5-0 Horizon) let the chance for a sweep slip away in the third game but ran away in the fourth frame to secure their 14th-straight win.

Leanne Felsing added nine kills, 11 digs and 42 assists for Milwaukee, while Becky Peters had 24 digs and Lauren Felsing 15 to lead the UWM defense.

Jessica Fraley had 15 kills to top the Penguins (6-9, 0-4), who were hurt by 35 hitting errors and 15 service errors.

"We really turned it around after we dropped the third game," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "We turned it up in that fourth game and took control. Youngstown really played well, but I thought we were solid. We had a hard time putting the ball away so we had to turn to our defense to give us some extra chances offensively."

UWM controlled the first frame from start to finish, jumping out to a quick 11-4 lead on a Gabrielsen kill before extending the edge to 17-8 on another kill by Gabrielsen. YSU did cut the lead to four on three occasions but could get no closer. A kill by Schmitting, an ace by Lauren Hintze and a YSU service error wrapped things up for the Panthers.

Milwaukee had a tougher time in the second game, trailing 18-15 before mounting a rally. In fact, the Panthers scored five-straight to take a 20-18 lead and, after the Penguins tied the game at 21, scored the next three points to take control. A kill by Vilter made it 27-22 and another Vilter kill pushed the edge back to 28-23. An error by the Penguins and a kill by Maddie Sueppel then gave UWM a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Panthers looked like they would end the match in the third game, jumping to a 9-3 lead. Milwaukee still led 16-11 but YSU took the lead at 19-18 on an Ebony Barbosa ace. The Penguins extended their edge to 23-20 and then to 27-23 before the Panthers rallied, with UWM tying the game at 28 and again at 29. But, the Panthers followed that up with two-straight errors, keeping the Penguins alive in the match.

UWM then eliminated any doubt in the outcome with a fast start in the fourth game. In fact, the Panthers scored 11 of the first 14 points of the game and still led 16-9 after a YSU error. A Vilter kill extended the edge back to 20-12 and an ace by Breit Nelson made it 25-16. Then, kills by Sueppel, Schmitting and Gabrielsen finished off the game and match for the Panthers.

The Panthers return to action Saturday afternoon, playing at Cleveland State in a battle of the top two teams in the Horizon League's preseason poll. The match begins at 4 p.m. EDT/3 p.m. CDT.