Sept. 5, 2009

Box Score |  Notes

OXFORD, Miss. - Jena Berg had 13 kills and Natalie Schmitting added 12 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed a 25-7, 25-12, 25-12 win over Alcorn State Saturday morning on day two of the Magnolia Classic.

After enduring a pair of five-set losses Friday, the Panthers made it clear quickly they had no intention of being pushed to the limit by the Braves. Milwaukee scored the first nine points of the opening set and was never threatened in breaking through for its first win of the season.

The Panthers (1-4) hit a school-record .474 in the match, committing just nine errors. UWM also tallied 11 service aces and limited Alcorn State to a .069 hitting clip.

Kesha Roberson had eight kills to lead the Braves (0-4).

"I was happy to see we came out focused from the start," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "I thought we earned a lot of our points, which was important in this match. It was nice to get everyone involved, and the play by some of the non-starters was really great to see. We were able to have some people work on some things throughout the match."

The Panthers took command of the opening set immediately, jumping out to a 9-0 advantage as Berg led the way with three quick kills. UWM's lead went to 15-1 on an ace by Lauren Felsing and was 17-3 after a kill by Mary Beth O'Brien. UWM's lone block of the first set - a tandem effort from Samantha Trawitzke and Schmitting - pushed the lead to 22-7 and then a kill by Schmitting, an Alcorn error and an ace from Felsing allowed Milwaukee to wrap up the first set.

It was more of the same for UWM in the second set. After Alcorn State scored the first two points, Milwaukee responded by scoring the next nine to take control. Natalie Chery came off the bench for a kill to make it 13-6 before two-straight kills by Mackenzie Millis made it 18-9. Then, after the Braves pulled to within 19-12, the Panthers finished the set on a 6-0 run. Berg had three kills during the burst, which also included two kills from Schmitting.

Milwaukee steadily pulled away in the third set. The Panthers took the lead for good at 5-4 on a Schmitting kill and extended the edge to 10-5 on two-straight aces by Anna Bartz. It was 14-7 after a kill by Berg and 16-8 following an ace by Trawitzke. O'Brien added a kill to push the lead to 22-10 before Milwaukee closed out the match on a kill by Chery.

UWM will wrap up play in the Magnolia Classic by squaring off with UAB at 2:30 p.m. The Blazers reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season and have split their first two matches at the classic this weekend.