Sept. 5, 2009

Box Score |  Notes

OXFORD, Miss. - Sam Serley had 18 kills and Savannah Pegg added 15 as the University of Alabama at Birmingham claimed a 25-19, 27-29, 27-25, 21-25, 15-9 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Saturday afternoon at the Magnolia Classic.

UAB (4-2) scored the first five points of the deciding fifth set and never looked back in handing Milwaukee (1-5) its third five-set loss of the weekend.

Jena Berg and Maddie Sueppel had 16 kills apiece to lead the Panthers, who also got 14 kills from Natalie Schmitting and 10 from Kerri Schuh. Lauren Felsing led the defensive charge with 22 digs while Berg added 19 digs.

But, UAB outblocked UWM, 18-6, holding the Panthers to a .179 hitting clip.

The thrilling five-set contest matched two teams that played in the NCAA Tournament a season ago.

"We have to learn and adapt and see what we're made of," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "We're here playing tough teams that don't give up and really, really want to win as much as we do. It's a learning process, but it's a tough one because this is the third time."

Milwaukee dug itself a big hole midway through the first set and could never really recover. After the Panthers built an early 4-2 advantage, UAB scored 15 of the next 20 points to claim a 17-9 lead. UWM did pull within 18-13 on an ace by Samantha Trawitzke and to within 23-19 on a kill by Sueppel. But, a kill by Pegg followed by a kill from Patty Paniagua gave UAB the first set.

UWM evened the match with a stellar comeback in the second set. The Panthers trailed 13-8 in the early going and still found themselves down 21-18 following a kill from Serley. UAB moved to set-point at 24-21 on a UWM error, but from there the Panthers continuously turned the Blazers away.

Kills by Mary Beth O'Brien, Schuh and Sueppel evened things at 24 and, after one UAB point, the Panthers again fought off a set-point on a kill by Sueppel. Milwaukee had two set-points before finally making good on its third, as two-straight kills by Berg brought UWM even in the match.

Milwaukee again found itself behind in the third set, with UAB building a 15-8 advantage on a kill by Andrea Lalic. The lead was still 19-12 after a UAB block and 22-16 following a kill from Paniagua. Once more the Panthers rallied, as two-straight aces by Anna Bartz started a run that finished with two Berg kills and Milwaukee up, 24-23.

But, UWM could not take advantage of either of its set-point chances from there, as a block by Pegg and Serley followed by a block from Jordan McDonald and Serley put the Blazers back ahead in the match.

UWM never trailed in winning the fourth set. The Panthers took the lead for good at 4-3 and eventually led 12-6 on a kill by O'Brien. The advantage was still 16-10 on a Schmitting kill and 19-14 on a UAB error. The Blazers did make things interesting from there, closing within 19-18 on a solo block from Serley. But, Milwaukee went back up 23-19 on a tip-kill from Trawitzke and then closed out the set on kills by Berg and Schuh.

It was all UAB in the fifth set. The Blazers jumped to leads of 5-0 and 10-2 in controlling the deciding frame. UWM did fight back to within 14-9 but a final kill by Pegg ended the match.

The Panthers return home next weekend, playing four matches in the Panther Invitational. UWM's first contest is Friday at 1:30 p.m. against South Dakota. Marquette, Ohio State and Western Michigan are also in the field.