Oct. 20, 2008

Box Score |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Rabbecka Gonyo had 18 kills to lead three players in double figures as Marquette recovered from a 2-0 deficit to knock off the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 25-27, 24-26, 25-11, 25-16, 15-11 Monday night at the Al McGuire Center.

The Panthers (15-6) got 15 kills from Becky Peters, 13 from Maddie Sueppel and 12 from Natalie Schmitting but could not overcome a huge offensive surge from the Golden Eagles (8-11) over the final three sets.

In fact, Marquette hit .522 in the third set, .250 in the fourth and .348 in the fifth, committing just nine hitting errors in the process. Meanwhile, UWM had 19 hitting errors over the final three sets.

Leslie Bielski added 17 kills and Ashlee Fisher 16 for Marquette, which also tallied 14.5 blocks in the match.

In the deciding fifth set, the Golden Eagles broke a 5-all tie with four-straight points and then never let the Panthers get closer than two the rest of the way.

"We made a lot of errors in that third set and then they were back in the match," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "We started to question ourselves and our confidence went away. It is hard to pinpoint one reason but we could just never get back on track. Marquette certainly took advantage of it though and played very well as the match went on."

The Panthers pulled out a hard-fought win in the first set. UWM built an early 9-5 lead and still led 17-14 following a Marquette error. The Golden Eagles did fight back to take a 21-20 lead only to see the Panthers push things to set-point at 24-22. MU then scored the next three points for a set-point chance of its own, only to see UWM counter with a final rally. A pair of errors by Marquette gave Milwaukee a 26-25 lead before a block by Kellye Zaporski and Sueppel wrapped things up for the Panthers.

UWM pulled out a similar victory in the second set. The Panthers actually looked to be pulling away in building leads of 11-6, 18-13 and 19-14. But, the Golden Eagles rallied to within 21-20 before Milwaukee pushed back to a 24-21 advantage. Marquette then fought off three set-point chances before the Panthers regained control. A kill by Schmitting stemmed the tide and a Marquette hitting error gave Milwaukee a 2-0 lead in the match.

Milwaukee was never in the third set. Marquette scored seven of the first nine points and then added a 7-0 run to build a 17-6 advantage. The Panthers would get no closer than 10 points after that, with a block by Fisher and Tiara Russell finally wrapping things up for the Golden Eagles. UWM hit -.152 in the set, committing 13 hitting errors while collecting just eight kills.

The Golden Eagles also controlled the fourth set on their way to evening the match. Marquette took the lead for good at 5-4 and eventually led 15-8 on a UWM hitting error. The Panthers did pull within 16-12 on a block by Sueppel and Kerri Schuh and again to within 17-13 on a kill by Schuh, but UWM would never get any closer. A kill by Gonyo started the final run by Marquette and another kill from her wrapped things up.

After five early ties in the fifth set, a solo block by Russell started a 4-0 run by Marquette. The Panthers did pull back to within 10-8 after back-to-back errors by MU, and again closed to within 12-10 on a kill by Sueppel. But, kills by Bielski and Gonyo along with a UWM error allowed the Golden Eagles to complete their comeback.

UWM returns to action this weekend, heading to Indiana for a pair of key league matches. The Panthers play at Valparaiso Friday before taking on Butler Saturday.