Oct. 6, 2009

Box Score |  Notes

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Porshia Allen and Jessica Wolfe tallied 10 kills apiece as Butler University captured a 25-16, 25-21, 25-19 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Tuesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The Bulldogs (14-8, 4-1 Horizon) hit .220 for the match while forcing the Panthers into 23 hitting errors.

Jena Berg led Milwaukee (5-11, 2-3) with 12 kills, while Natalie Schmitting and Kerri Schuh added six apiece.

Maureen Bamiro added nine kills and six blocks for Butler, which did its part to stay in a group of three league teams with just one loss.

The Panthers played from behind almost the entire night and could never forge ahead late in any of the three sets.

"When you give a team the lead in every set, it makes it very difficult to win," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "We got a lot of positive contributions. Lauren is such a tough player - she got hurt and still came back and got 17 digs. Kerri Schuh did a nice job and really has the ability to be a big contributor on offense. Natalie Schmitting made herself available and worked hard.

"Unfortunately, though, allowing too many runs of points just makes it difficult to win. But, we are staying positive and together and working at it to get better results. We'll be ready to go again tomorrow."

The Bulldogs steadily pulled away in the first set. They took the lead for good at 8-7 and extended their edge to 13-9 on a UWM error. The lead hit 16-10 on a block by Wolfe and Bamiro and grew to 19-11 on a kill by Allen. Milwaukee did rally to within 22-16 after a kill by Mary Beth O'Brien and a Butler error, but the Bulldogs responded with the next three points to take the lead in the match.

UWM hung close in the second set but could never pull ahead. Butler scored the first five points of the set and eventually led 10-1 on a kill by Gina Vera. Milwaukee battled back, pulling within 10-7 on a kill by Berg and then within 12-10 on a Butler error. The Bulldogs restored a 20-13 lead after two-straight UWM errors and still led 21-15 after a Milwaukee service error. The Panthers did crawl back within 23-20 on a kill by Schmitting and again within 24-21 on a kill by O'Brien, but a kill by Bamiro ended the frame and put Butler up 2-0 in the match.

Butler pulled away in the third set. The Bulldogs took the lead for good at 6-5 and extended their edge to 11-6 on a UWM error. The Panthers did fight back to within 14-11 on a kill by Berg and were still within 16-13 on an ace by Schmitting. But, the Bulldogs scored eight of the next 10 points to put the set and the match away.

UWM continues its busy week on the road with a Wednesday night contest at Valparaiso. The match begins at 7 p.m. CST.