Sept. 6, 2008

Box Score |  Notes

EAST PEORIA, Ill. - Becky Peters had 14 kills to lead four players in double figures as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed 20-25, 28-26, 22-25, 25-23, 15-5 win over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Saturday, wrapping up the championship of the Wingate by Wyndham Invitational.

The Panthers (4-2) scored the first five points of the decisive fifth set and then never looked back in claiming their 10th in-season tournament title in the last 11-plus seasons.

UWM didn't have its best day on offense but again rode its defense plus key contributions from freshmen Kerri Schuh (10 kills) and Mary Beth O'Brien (seven kills) to its third-straight victory. In all, UWM hit just .153 for the match but hit .625 in the fifth set, recording 10 kills without an error.

"It was really a case of the older players trusting and believing in the younger ones, and that turned into the younger ones believing they could do it," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "Mary Beth really added a lot off the bench, Kerri started swinging harder later in the match and putting balls away and Sam (Samantha Trawitzke) is just a gamer who did a nice job directing the offense when the match was on the line."

The Panthers wound up with 14 blocks in the match, led the eight from Maddie Sueppel. Lauren Felsing again topped everyone in the back row with 25 digs, with Peters adding 17 digs for her sixth-straight double-double.

"Our defense continues to shine, but I was really happy with the adjustment we made on the block," Johnson said. "It is so hard to adjust during the match, but the adjustments our players made to the block in the fifth set really made a difference. That was a good team we beat and we had to beat them when they were playing at their best and really pushing us to the limit."

Natalie Schmitting (11 kills) and Sueppel (10) joined Peters and Schuh as Panthers who reached double figures in kills. Trawitzke had 27 assists while Kellye Zaporski added 17 as both of UWM's setters saw plenty of action during the match.

Sydney Winslow led SIUE (2-3) with 13 kills.

SIUE ran away with the first set. Milwaukee did have an early three-point edge but the Cougars took the lead for good at 15-14 on a UWM error. That was actually part of a seven-point run by SIUE, which eventually led by as many as eight points. The Panthers did put some pressure on late, scoring five-straight points to pull within 23-20. But, a UWM service error and a block by Noelle Franke and Samantha Schulte gave SIUE the win.

The Panthers had to battle through the second set to even the match. In fact, after the Panthers saw three of their own set-point chances slip away, Milwaukee had to fight back from a 25-24 deficit to claim the win. UWM had another set-point chance at 26-25 before a service error evened the frame. But, Peters followed with a pair of kills to wrap up the set.

SIUE won a hard-fought victory in the third set. The Cougars led by as many as three points in the early going before the Panthers came back to tie the set at 16, 17 and 18. SIUE surged back in front, with a UWM error making it 23-19. Milwaukee scored the next three points to pull within 23-22 but the Cougars claimed the final two points for a 2-1 lead in the match.

UWM returned the favor by pulling out a tight win in the fourth set. The Panthers looked to be in control early, building a quick 8-2 lead. The Panthers still led 14-9 after a block by Sueppel and Samantha Trawitzke and had a 20-16 edge after two-straight kills by Mary Beth O'Brien. But, SIUE fought back to tie the set at 22 and again at 23 before Milwaukee countered. A kill by Kerri Schuh pushed the Panthers to set point before O'Brien sealed the set with a kill down the left sideline, pushing the match to a deciding fifth frame.

In that fifth set, UWM turned its quick 5-0 lead into an 8-1 advantage and then pushed the edge to 11-2 on a tip kill by Trawitzke. A block by Sueppel and Trawitzke pushed the Panthers to match point before a Schmitting kill finished things off.

The Panthers return to action next weekend, heading to East Lansing, Mich., for the MSU Showcase. UWM will face NCAA qualifier Florida A&M Thursday at 6 p.m. CDT (7 p.m. in East Lansing) before facing both Michigan State and UCONN Friday.