Aug. 29, 2008

Box Score |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Sophomore Maddie Sueppel had 21 kills and senior Becky Peters added 15 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee knocked off 18th-ranked Iowa State, 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 15-11, Friday night at the Panther Invitational.

Sophomore Natalie Schmitting added 10 kills and five blocks for the Panthers, who also got 29 digs from Lauren Felsing in limiting Iowa State (1-1) to a .133 hitting percentage.

In the deciding fifth game, the Panthers broke a 10-all tie with three-straight points behind the strong serving of Kellye Zaporski. Then, after Iowa State pulled to within 13-11, a service error by the Cyclones and a kill by Schmitting wrapped things up for Milwaukee.

Victoria Henson had 19 kills to lead the Cyclones, who beat Wisconsin en route to a Sweet 16 appearance last season.

For the Panthers (1-1), it is their first win over a ranked team since 1999. It is also their second-straight five-set battle with an NCAA Tournament team from a year ago. UWM, a squad with 12 freshmen and sophomores on the roster, fell to Ole Miss in five sets in the opener Friday afternoon.

"That was incredible," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "For such a young team, we were so composed. We switched some things up along the way and we executed it all very well. What I am most impressed with is how relaxed and confident we were in that fifth game."

Defense really did carry the day for the Panthers. Despite being outblocked, 16-9, UWM still forced Iowa State into 31 hitting errors. Plus, Milwaukee tallied 83 digs, with Peters adding 17 digs to the match-high 29 from Felsing.

"We were digging a lot of very big hitters," Johnson said. "Sometimes those hitters are used to putting the ball away immediately and you can frustrate them a little bit if you keep the ball alive. It can make them think they need to change something and they get out of their game. I have said our defense can keep us in matches with many teams in the country, and it showed that tonight."

UWM made a late push to pull out the first frame. The set was tied at 14-apiece before Milwaukee scored five of the next six points for a 19-15 lead. After Iowa State pulled to within 19-18, an ISU service error followed by a Zaporski ace pushed the lead back to 21-18. A solo block by Schmitting then pushed the Panthers to set point before a kill by Schmitting wrapped things up for UWM.

Milwaukee had to rally in winning game two. The Panthers trailed 14-7 after a kill by Jen Malcom and the Cyclones still led 16-10 after a block by Malcom and Mary Bisenius. But, the Panthers scored the next seven points to take the lead and then took the lead for good at 19-18 on a kill by Mary Beth O'Brien. A kill by Schmitting and an ace by Zaporski made it 24-21 and UWM wrapped up the set on an Iowa State service error.

Iowa State bounced back with wins in sets three and four. The Cyclones snapped an 18-all tie in the third frame by scoring seven of the final 10 points of the set. Then, in the fourth set, Milwaukee rallied from a 23-19 deficit to tie the frame at 23. But, Iowa State was able to pull the set out on a pair of UWM errors, setting up the decisive fifth set.

In the first match of the evening session, Ole Miss used 13 kills from Katie Norris and a stellar defense to claim a 25-11, 25-16, 25-21 win over Illinois State. The Rebels hit .261 as a team while limiting the Redbirds to a .056 hitting percentage.

Ole Miss is now 2-0 in the event and will face Iowa State Saturday at noon. Illinois State is now 0-2 and will meet Milwaukee at 2:30 p.m.