Aug. 30, 2008

Box Score |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Mallory Leggett had 19 kills and Illinois State limited the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to a .051 hitting percentage in claiming a 26-24, 29-27, 25-17 win Saturday afternoon in the final match of the Panther Invitational at the Klotsche Center.

Becky Peters had 11 kills to lead Milwaukee (1-2), which was playing its third-straight match against an NCAA Tournament team. Kerri Schuh added nine kills while Peters and Lauren Felsing had 15 digs apiece for the Panthers.

The Redbirds (1-2) pulled out tight wins in sets one and two before controlling the third set en route to the victory. Illinois State never let UWM get on track offensively, recording 13 blocks while forcing 28 total hitting errors in the three sets.

"They had a great block on us," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "We were never able to get in a groove. We made some lineup changes along the way but nothing we tried could get us on track. We will just have to learn from this and move forward."

The Panthers had a great chance to win each of the first two sets. In the first frame, UWM built a 15-8 lead only to see Illinois State counter by scoring 13 of the next 19 points to forge a 21-all tie. The Panthers did have a set-point chance at 24-23 but two-straight kills by Leggett and a block by Leggett and Katie Culbertson wrapped things up for the Redbirds.

Illinois State built leads of 18-15 and 20-16 in the second set before Milwaukee rallied. The Panthers tied the frame at 21 on a block by Natalie Schmitting and Schuh and eventually led 23-21 after an ISU error. The Panthers then had set-point opportunities at 24-23, 25-24 and 27-26, but a Redbird block followed by two kills from M.C. Richmond put Illinois State up two sets to none.

The Redbirds steadily pulled away in the third set. They took the lead for good at 10-9 on a UWM error and eventually led 17-11 after an ace by Leggett. The lead went to 20-13 on a kill by Hailey Kelley and UWM would get no closer than six points from there.

In action earlier Saturday at the Panther Invitational, 18th-ranked Iowa State rebounded from its Friday night loss to UWM with an impressive 25-11, 25-17, 25-19 win over Ole Miss. Tournament most valuable player Jen Malcom joined Rachel Hockaday with 12 kills apiece for the Cyclones.

Iowa State and Ole Miss each wound up 2-1 in the tournament, with the Cyclones declared the champions thanks to their victory over the Rebels. Milwaukee and Illinois State both went 1-2 in the event.

UWM returns to action next weekend at the Bradley Invitational, facing the host Braves and Eastern Michigan Friday night before squaring off with SIU-Edwardsville Saturday.