Nov. 14, 2008

Box Score |  Notes

CHICAGO - Maddie Sueppel had 15 kills and Natalie Schmitting added 10 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee wrapped up at least a share of its sixth-straight Horizon League regular season title with a 25-23, 25-21, 25-19 win over the University of Illinois at Chicago Friday night at the Flames Athletic Center.

The Panthers (19-8, 12-3 League) also played strong defense, limiting UIC to a .099 hitting clip while collecting 55 digs. Lauren Felsing and Kellye Zaporski had 12 apiece to lead the way.

Katerina Hanackova led the Flames (12-16, 5-10) with 10 kills.

UWM now wraps up the regular season Saturday at Loyola, and will claim the outright title and top seed for the upcoming league tournament with either a victory or a Valparaiso loss to Wright State.

"I am very proud of this team," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "This whole season has been an enormous team effort. We've been getting better every day and we've really stayed the course and focused on the finish. Hopefully we can carry this into tomorrow and then on to next weekend."

The Panthers rallied to pull out the first set, overcoming a 22-18 deficit by scoring seven of the final eight points in the frame. A kill by Sueppel and a UIC error evened the set at 23 before a Becky Peters kill followed by a UIC error gave Milwaukee the early lead in the match.

Milwaukee ran away with the second set, using an 8-2 run to build a 22-14 advantage. UIC did fight back to within 24-21 but a kill by Schmitting put the Panthers up 2-0.

UWM then controlled the third set to record its third three-set sweep in its last four outings. The Panthers led 19-11 after a kill from Sueppel and still led 23-16 on a kill by Schmitting. The Flames pulled within 23-19 but a kill by Kerri Schuh and a UIC error allowed UWM to wrap up the match.

"We did a good job of finding a way to win in the first and third sets, because it wasn't easy," Johnson said. "Our middle attack was very good and we know we have to keep getting them the ball in transition."

Saturday's match at Alumni Gym begins at 2 p.m.