Nov. 23, 2008

Box Score
Johnson Postmatch Interview
Peters Postmatch Interview
Sueppel Postmatch Interview

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee fought off a pair of match points before Natalie Schmitting tipped home the winning kill as the Panthers captured a 20-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-20, 17-15 win over Cleveland State in the championship match of the Horizon League Volleyball Tournament.

The regular-season champion Panthers (23-8) are headed to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time, winning a league tourney title for the fifth time.

Tournament most valuable player Maddie Sueppel led Milwaukee with 17 kills and 11 blocks, while Becky Peters added 14 kills and 13 digs. Schmitting wound up with 12 kills and five blocks, including four kills in the second half of the fifth set.

The Panthers played from behind much of the way in the deciding frame. CSU had a 13-11 lead and, after UWM tied things at 13, the Vikings had match-point chances at 14-13 and 15-14. But, a kill by Peters fought off the first chance and a Schmitting kill eliminated the second opportunity. Then, Milwaukee took a 16-15 lead on a CSU error before the Schmitting kill ended a long rally and the match.

"I can barely explain how it feels right now," Peters, the lone senior on UWM's roster, said. "I never doubted us the whole way through that we had it in us. Our young kids have a lot of heart, and what absolutely won it out there for us was our heart.

"It was an absolute team effort. There were a bunch of us that stepped up in every match so it was never just one person. Everybody is so involved in the match and everyone is helping each other out, and that's what does it for us."

The Panthers' defense got better as the match went along. CSU was hitting .297 after the first three sets but then hit just .104 in the fourth set and -.031 in the fifth frame. Milwaukee wound up with a season-high 18 blocks in the contest.

"We were getting a little more disciplined, a little tougher, a little stronger," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "This team really took advantage of that. They really pushed forward and believed in themselves."

"Blocking is usually our weakest point and it just shows you what we can do when we have a good block up," Sueppel said.

A number of freshmen also came through in the title match for the Panthers. Kerri Schuh earned a spot on the all-tournament team with nine kills and five blocks, while Mary Beth O'Brien added seven kills and Melissa Jansen had three kills and a block off the bench. Plus, Samantha Trawitzke had 30 assists, 11 digs and four blocks in sharing setting duties with junior Kellye Zaporski, who had 18 assists and 12 digs of her own.

"They don't act like they're young. They don't play like they're young," Johnson said. "They keep their head on straight and they just go after it."

Junior Lauren Felsing was UWM's other honoree on the all-tournament team. She had 12 digs in the win and has now reached double figures in digs in 56-straight matches.

Jenni Ramminger had 15 kills to lead sixth-seeded Cleveland State (10-19), which nearly pulled off the upset on its home court.

"This team has stayed the course all year," Johnson said. "Everyone has come to play their best to beat us, and we've pushed back and pushed back and we edge our opponent. That's what we did again today."

CSU fought from behind to claim the first set. The Panthers built an 8-3 lead on a Sueppel kill and still led 13-9 after an ace by Peters. The Vikings scored four in a row to tie the set and then took the lead for good at 15-14 on a UWM error. CSU eventually pushed its lead all the way to 22-16 and Milwaukee would never get closer than three points after that. A kill by Ramminger then finished things off for the Vikings.

The Panthers evened the match with a late surge in the second set. Cleveland State had a 15-14 lead after a block but Milwaukee took the lead for good at 17-16 on a Viking service error. The Panthers eventually led 21-18 on a CSU hitting error and then 23-19 on a Sueppel kill. CSU did pull back to within 24-22 before a kill by Peters wrapped things up.

The Vikings pulled away to win the third set. UWM jumped out to an 8-4 lead on a Schmitting kill only to see Cleveland State fight back to claim an 11-10 advantage on a UWM error. The Vikings then took the lead for good at 15-14 on a Milwaukee service error and eventually led 19-15. UWM scored the next point but CSU pulled away after that, building leads of 23-16 and 24-17 in wrapping things up.

Milwaukee struck back to win the fourth set. The Panthers led 7-4 before Cleveland State fought back to lead 9-8. UWM then took the lead for good at 13-12 on a block by Sueppel and O'Brien and eventually led 16-13 on an O'Brien kill. The lead grew to 21-16 on a kill by Schuh and CSU never got closer than four. A kill by Sueppel officially extended the match to a fifth set.

The Panthers and Vikings then played a thrilling deciding frame. Milwaukee actually fell behind 5-2 early on but scored four in a row - including a crucial solo block by Sueppel that started the rally - to claim a 6-5 lead. CSU fought back and led 10-8, 11-9, 12-10 and 13-11 before the match came to its thrilling conclusion.

UWM will now await the NCAA Tournament pairings, which will be announced next Sunday evening on ESPNU.