Oct. 11, 2008

Box Score |  Notes

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Becky Peters had 17 kills and Maddie Sueppel added 10 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee captured a 25-14, 25-21, 31-29 win over Youngstown State Saturday afternoon at the Beeghly Center.

The first-place Panthers (13-5, 6-1 Horizon) hit a solid .208 for the match in recording just their second three-set sweep of the season.

UWM's defense in the back row was again strong, as Lauren Felsing tallied 25 digs while the Panthers limited the Penguins to a .154 hitting clip.

Kellye Zaporski was stellar in directing the Milwaukee offense, collecting 39 assists to go with 15 digs, four kills and four aces.

Ebony Barbosa led Youngstown State (8-9, 1-6) with 14 kills.

"It was a very nice team effort," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "We played very well most of the time and we were very efficient on offense. I thought we trusted each other during the match and really stayed steady when things were close in the second and third sets."

The Panthers gradually took control of the first set. They broke a 7-all tie with four-straight points and then never let the Penguins closer than two points the rest of the way. Milwaukee scored seven of the final eight points of the set to win going away.

UWM trailed much of the way in the second set. In fact, the Panthers were down 16-12 and 17-15 before finally rallying. Milwaukee scored six-straight to grab a 21-17 advantage and then a kill by Natalie Schmitting gave UWM a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set was tight all the way, though UWM held an advantage most of the time. The Panthers led 9-5, 16-13 and 23-21 before the Penguins extended the set and match. UWM trailed 29-28 before putting together a final surge, with a kill by Schmitting, a YSU error and a kill by Peters wrapping things up.

"We did get contributions from a lot of people," Johnson said. "Becky did a great job again, then Lauren has 25 digs in three sets, Maddie really played well in the middle, Kellye did well running the offense and Mary Beth O'Brien got us going on offense when we were down in the second set. I was very pleased."

UWM continues its weekend road swing through Ohio Sunday afternoon against preseason league favorite Cleveland State.