Nov. 14, 2009

Box Score

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MILWAUKEE - Kerri Schuh had a collegiate-high 22 kills and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee hit .292 for the match in claiming a 22-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-19 win over Butler Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers (13-14, 10-6 Horizon) have won eight-straight matches and fought all the way from eighth place into third heading into next weekend's league tournament.

Maddie Sueppel and Jena Berg added 15 kills for Milwaukee, which tallied a season-best 70 kills. Senior Kellye Zaporski recorded 56 assists in directing the attack.

Defensively, senior Lauren Felsing led four Panthers in double figures with 21 digs.

Jessica Wolfe had 22 kills to lead Butler (21-13, 10-6).

"We're 8-0 in the second half of the conference and the team is just ready to go," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "They're just climbing. We've talked about that for the last four weeks, to keep climbing and to get better every day, and that's what we've been doing. I'm really proud of this team."

Butler controlled the first set to take the lead in the match. The Bulldogs bolted to a 12-6 lead and still led 16-11 after a kill by Maureen Bamiro. The Panthers did pull all the way back to within 18-17 but could never forge a tie. A UWM error pushed Butler's lead back to 22-17 and then a kill by Jalesa Lee finished things off for the Bulldogs.

UWM bounced back to win the second set. The Panthers built a 13-9 lead following kills by Berg and Sueppel and extended the edge to 16-11 on a Butler error. The Bulldogs were able to fight back to within a point on three occasions but could never get over the hump. Milwaukee then scored the final four points of the set, with two kills by Sueppel highlighting the late run.

The Panthers grabbed the lead in the match by winning the third set. UWM built a 13-9 advantage following a three-point burst and then led 19-14 after a kill by Sueppel. The lead grew to 23-16 on a kill by Berg and Butler never threatened after that. A kill by Schuh finished things off for Milwaukee.

UWM then controlled the fourth set to wrap up the match. The Panthers scored 10 of the first 14 points in the frame and extended the lead to 17-10 on a kill by Schuh. Butler never got closer than four points after that, with two kills by O'Brien sealing the victory and extending Milwaukee's winning streak.

Milwaukee heads to Cleveland for the league championship, which gets underway Friday. According to the Horizon League, UWM will be the third seed by winning a tiebreaker over Butler. Thus, the Panthers will face sixth-seeded Green Bay in their first tournament match. A full tournament bracket and times will be available Sunday.