Sept. 5, 2008

Box Score |  Notes

EAST PEORIA, Ill. - Becky Peters had 16 kills and hit .593 while Maddie Sueppel added 13 kills as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed a 25-16, 25-16, 19-25, 25-14 win over Eastern Michigan Friday night at the Wingate by Wyndham Invitational.

Milwaukee (3-2) completely controlled all three sets it won to claim its second victory of the day.

Peters also added 14 digs for her fifth-straight double-double, while Sueppel added five blocks.

Milwaukee's defense was again strong, limiting Eastern Michigan (1-4) to a .100 hitting clip. Lauren Felsing had 25 digs to lead the defensive charge.

Three players had nine kills apiece to lead the Eagles.

"I thought we really attacked every touch on the ball," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "We stayed in system and it really showed in the results on offense. I can't say enough about Becky as the leader of that. She was just doing what we have been telling her to do and she was on fire all night."

UWM controlled the first set from beginning to end. The Panthers led 11-8 after a service ace by Lauren Hintze and pushed the edge to 14-10 on a kill by Peters. UWM's lead grew to 17-12 on a Mary Beth O'Brien kill and, after EMU cut the edge to 17-14, the Panthers rattled off the next six points to put the frame away. Another EMU error and a kill by Peters wrapped up the set for the Panthers.

Milwaukee steadily pulled away in the second set. The Panthers led by five points early on before the Eagles pulled as close as a point at 13-12. But, UWM responded with the next three points to regain control and then gradually added to its advantage. The final surge included three blocks by the tandem of Sueppel and Kerri Schuh, with an EMU error accounting for the final point.

UWM never really got on track in the third set, with Eastern Michigan grabbing an early lead and maintaining it the rest of the way. The Eagles advantage grew as large as six through the middle of the set, with the Panthers closing to within three at 22-19 on a Schmitting kill. But, a pair of UWM errors helped EMU score the final three points of the frame and extend the match.

The Panthers wasted little time in regaining control of the match. UWM scored eight of the first 11 points of the fourth set and led 15-5 after another kill by Peters. Two-straight aces by Lauren Hintze pushed the lead to 18-6 and an ace by Samantha Trawitzke made it 21-9. Then a kill by Sueppel and a block by Sueppel and Trawitzke wrapped up the match for the Panthers.

The Panthers will wrap up action at the Wingate by Wyndham Invitational Saturday, taking on SIU-Edwardsville at 1:30 pm. SIUE has split its first two matches at the invitational, defeating Eastern Michigan in five sets Friday morning before falling to Bradley in five sets earlier Friday night.