Sept. 25, 2009

Box Score |  Notes

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Jena Berg had 12 kills to lead a balanced attack and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee put forth a stellar defensive effort to claim a 25-23, 25-23, 18-25, 25-21 win over Green Bay Friday night at the Kress Events Center.

The Panthers tallied 110 digs and 10 blocks in the win, limiting Green Bay to a .144 hitting clip. Senior Lauren Felsing tallied a collegiate-best 40 digs - a UWM record for a four-set match - while three other players added at least 15 digs.

Maddie Sueppel returned from injury to add 10 kills and five blocks for Milwaukee (5-9, 2-1 Horizon), while Natalie Schmitting and Mary Beth O'Brien pitched-in with nine kills apiece.

Abbey Gitter had 14 kills and three players added 13 apiece for Green Bay (3-10, 0-3), which had 30 hitting errors.

UWM led just 21-20 late in the fourth set but surged to the finish in beating Green Bay for the 31st time in the last 34 meetings between the two schools.

"I am so happy for the team," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "We played together and Green Bay really pushed ... and they never really let up. We were able to push it back and push it back and really come together. Those last five points of the match were solidifying that we are a team and we can move forward, because that's really what we had to do - take charge and finish the match."

Berg added 18 digs to the defensive charge, as did Samantha Trawitzke. Anna Bartz pitched-in with 15 digs.

Milwaukee earned a hard-fought win in the first set. The Panthers jumped out to a quick 6-3 advantage only to see the Phoenix bounce back for a 12-10 lead. UWM took the lead back at 14-13 on a kill by Berg and eventually led 18-15 on a kill by O'Brien. Once more Green Bay came back, scoring five in a row for a 20-18 advantage. The set was then tied at 20, 22 and 23 before kills by Berg and O'Brien gave Milwaukee the lead in the match.

After holding a commanding lead most of the way, the Panthers pulled out another tight one in the second set. UWM jumped out to a 7-3 lead on a Sueppel kill and extended its edge to 14-7 on a kill by Schmitting. The lead was still 17-10 after another kill by Sueppel and Milwaukee was up 21-16 following a kill from Berg. But, Green Bay scored five in a row to tie things at 21 and took a 23-22 lead on a tip kill by Kelly Mischler. UWM surged back, though, with a kill by O'Brien tying things, a block by Sueppel and Kerri Schuh pushing the Panthers back ahead and a Green Bay error putting Milwaukee up two sets.

Green Bay got back in the match with a spirited effort in the third set. The Phoenix took the lead for good at 8-7 and eventually led 16-10 after a service ace by Laura Garrow. Green Bay then led by as many as seven points down the stretch, with UWM getting no closer than five. Two late kills by Holly Visser wrapped things up for the Phoenix.

UWM then pulled out the fourth set to wrap up the match. The Panthers built a 12-10 lead after a block by Schuh and Schmitting and led 15-12 following a Schmitting kill. Green Bay fought back to tie things at 16, but an O'Brien kill gave Milwaukee the lead back for good. UWM eventually led 21-18 and, after two points in a row by Green Bay, the Panthers pushed the edge out to 24-20 on two-straight GB errors. Then, following one more point from Green Bay, a back-row kill by Berg wrapped things up.

UWM has another full week off before returning to action next Friday at home against Youngstown State. The match begins at 7 p.m.