Oct. 23, 2009

Box Score

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MILWAUKEE - Mary Beth O'Brien and Jena Berg had 13 kills apiece to lead a balanced attack as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed a 25-17, 18-25, 25-20, 25-17 win over Green Bay Friday night at the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers limited the Phoenix to a .091 hitting clip in beating their in-state rivals for the 32nd time in the last 35 meetings between the two schools.

Kerri Schuh added 12 kills and Maddie Sueppel 10 for Milwaukee (8-14, 5-6 Horizon).

But the defense again told the story for the Panthers, with Berg tallying 24 kills and Kellye Zaporski adding 22. UWM also had 10 blocks and forced Green Bay into a total of 29 hitting errors.

Abbey Gitter led the Phoenix (7-16, 3-8) with 13 kills.

"We did have fight and we were able to execute some offense and stay the course," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "Mary Beth came out with a lot of confidence and did what our game plan was. We kept them out of system. The goal was to be serving tough and we did that."

The teams split the first two sets, with each team controlling the frame it won. In the first set, UWM used 6-0 burst to break a 12-all tie and Green Bay would never get closer than five points after that. A Phoenix error followed by an ace from Zaporski and a kill from Berg allowed Milwaukee to wrap things up.

Green Bay turned the tables in the second set, breaking a 7-all tie with six-straight points. The Phoenix lead eventually hit 16-8 and 19-11 before UWM rallied, pulling within 20-17 on a block by Sueppel and Schuh. But, a kill by Holly Visser stemmed the tide before kills by Visser and Gitter tied things at a set apiece.

Milwaukee pulled away late in the third set. The Panthers trailed 17-16 but scored seven-straight to take control. The run was highlighted by a balanced offensive attack, as Schuh, O'Brien, Zaporski and Sueppel all tallied kills. UWM then closed things out on a kill by Berg.

The Panthers left no doubt in the fourth frame, scoring 11 of the first 14 points to seize control. The lead grew to 20-8 and Green Bay never got closer than seven points. Kills from Schmitting and Berg then sealed UWM's third-straight win.

Milwaukee doesn't play again until Sat., Oct. 31, when it makes the trip to Youngstown State for a 1 p.m. battle with the Penguins.