Sept. 16, 2008

Box Score |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Becky Peters had 19 kills and 11 digs, becoming the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's all-time digs leader in the process and helping the Panthers to a 25-22, 25-20, 19-25, 27-25 win over Northern Illinois Tuesday night at the Klotsche Center.

Natalie Chery, Natalie Schmitting and Maddie Sueppel all added nine kills for Milwaukee (7-3), which won for the sixth time in its last seven matches.

Allison McGlaughlin had 18 kills and Meagan Schoenrock added 16 for Northern Illinois (7-6), which saw a five-match winning streak snapped.

But Peters took the spotlight on offense and defense. The 19 kills equal the second-highest tally of her career while she now has 1,604 digs, besting the 1,600 Laura Dallenbach had from 1998-2001.

"Becky is such a great player," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "I think since she has become a hitter for us over the last couple of years, her defense can get overlooked. But, she reads the hitter and the play very well and she really sees the court. She is such a big part of our ability to be one of the best defensive teams in the country."

Meanwhile, UWM received a wide array of contributions offensively and again rode a stingy defense (.111 opponent hitting percentage) to victory.

"It was a good sign that we kept pushing and kept fighting. It is a good way to head into league play Friday," Johnson said. "Northern Illinois is a good team and a great example of what we will see night in and night out in the league."

The Panthers pulled out a tight first set. UWM didn't take the lead for good until a kill by Peters made it 20-19. The lead expanded to 23-20 on a NIU error and then kills by Peters and Kerri Schuh gave Milwaukee a 1-0 lead in the match.

UWM staged another great comeback to pull out the second set. The Panthers found themselves down 19-13 after a kill by McGlaughlin before launching a rally. Milwaukee scored seven-straight capped by a kill from Natalie Chery, to take a 20-19 lead. Then, after NIU knotted the set at 20, the Panthers scored five more in a row. Kills by Chery, Schmitting and Sueppel highlighted the rally.

NIU stayed alive by winning the third set. Milwaukee got off to a quick start in building an 8-4 lead but the Huskies scored the next five points and maintained control the rest of the way. The lead hit 17-12 following back-to-back aces and the Panthers never got closer than two points the rest of the way. A kill by Cassie Yates wrapped up the set.

The Panthers then pulled out a fourth set that saw each team lose a player due to injury. Lauren Felsing was bloodied after hitting her head on the floor during a spectacular dig attempt early in the frame, while NIU setter Amanda Tadla went down much later in the set with an apparent ankle injury. It was a late surge by UWM that finally wrapped up the match after the Panthers led most of the way. The advantage hit 21-18 on a Peters kill and was still 24-22 after another kill by Peters. After NIU fought off three match-point chances, a hitting error by Schoenrock finished things off.

Milwaukee returns to action Friday night, opening Horizon League play at Wright State.