Oct. 29, 2010

Box Score

CHICAGO - Kerri Schuh and Mary Beth O'Brien had 11 kills apiece and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee hit .343 for the match in claiming a 25-16, 25-18, 25-17 win over Loyola Friday night at Alumni Gym.

The Panthers (16-8, 11-1 Horizon) committed just 10 hitting errors and had 13 blocks in winning their seventh-straight match and for the 13th time in their last 14 outings.

Elizabeth Egerer and Natalie Schmitting added eight kills apiece, while Rachel Neuberger had seven kills and seven blocks.

UWM set the tone by hitting .531 in the first set, with 18 kills and just one error. From there, Milwaukee was rarely threatened in staying atop the Horizon League standings.

Colleen Francis had nine kills to lead Loyola (9-15, 2-10).

Milwaukee broke the first set open with an 8-1 burst that turned a 5-all tie into a 13-6 advantage. The Ramblers pulled within 13-9, but a kill by Egerer and an ace by Lauren Hintze pushed the lead back to 15-9. Neuberger and Schuh recorded back-to-back kills to grow the advantage to 20-13 before a block by Schuh and Schmitting made it 23-15. Schuh and Neuberger then each added kills to wrap up the first set.

UWM used a late surge to win the second set. The Panthers led 9-5 in the early going but Loyola rallied to tie the frame at 11 and the set was still tied at 15 and 16 following UWM errors. But a kill by Egerer started a run of seven-straight by Milwaukee, giving the Panthers complete control. Another kill by Egerer made it 24-17 before a block by Schuh and Schmitting finished off the second frame.

The Panthers then put the match away in the third set. UWM fell behind 6-2 but rallied to take the lead for good at 8-7 on a kill by O'Brien. O'Brien actually had four kills during what turned out to be a 7-0 burst. The lead went all the way out to 18-9 and the Panthers were never seriously threatened from there. The closest Loyola would get was four points, but kills by Neuberger, O'Brien and Schuh made it 24-16 and another O'Brien kill finished things off.

UWM continues its weekend road trip Saturday at Valparaiso. The match starts at 5 p.m. CDT.