Oct. 5, 2010

Box Score

CHICAGO - Kerri Schuh had 13 kills and Elizabeth Egerer added 11 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee captured a 19-25, 25-12, 25-14, 26-24 win over UIC Tuesday night at the UIC Physical Education Building.

The Panthers (9-7, 6-0 Horizon) have now won six-straight matches and are alone in first place in the Horizon League.

UWM pulled out a tight fourth set to claim the win. The Panthers led by as many as six points in the early going only to see UIC rally to take a 21-20 lead. But, Milwaukee took the lead back for good at 25-24 on a UIC service error and then wrapped things up on a kill by Rachel Neuberger.

Milwaukee's defense again was stellar, as the Panthers forced 37 UIC hitting errors while limiting the Flames to a .071 hitting clip. UWM, which leads the league in blocking, collected 13 blocks and also used tough serving throughout the match to consistently frustrate the Flames.

Offensively, the Panthers recovered from nine hitting errors in the first set to have 41 kills and just eight errors over the final three frames.

Casie Sullivan had 14 kills to lead UIC (8-9, 3-4).

UIC used a fast start and a late surge to win the first set. The Flames scored 12 of the first 16 points of the frame, forcing the Panthers to use both of their timeouts. That did settle Milwaukee down, as UWM scored 12 of the next 16 to tie the frame at 16 apiece. But, UIC scored the next three points to reclaim control. Milwaukee was still within 22-19 after two-straight UIC errors before a pair of Milwaukee errors sandwiched around a UIC block put the Flames ahead in the match.

UWM recovered with an excellent performance in the second set. The Panthers bolted out to a 10-2 lead and never really let the Flames back in it. UIC did close to within five points twice but could never get any closer, as a 7-1 run late in the set put Milwaukee up 21-9. Late kills by Egerer and Mary Beth O'Brien then finished things for the Panthers, tying the match at one set apiece.

The Panthers again controlled play with a fast start in the third set. Milwaukee scored nine of the first 10 points in the frame and never let UIC get closer than five points from there. The lead hit 14-6 on a kill by O'Brien and 18-6 after a block by Neuberger and Jena Berg. Then, the final Milwaukee surge included kills from Schuh and Egerer as well as a pair of blocks.

Milwaukee then looked to be on its way to controlling the fourth set, as well. The Panthers built leads of 12-6 and 14-8 and then still led 17-13 on a block by Schuh and Natalie Schmitting. But, the set was tied six times after that before the Panthers finally emerged with the victory.

UWM returns to action with a pair of home matches this weekend. The Panthers play Butler Saturday at 2 p.m. in the annual Pink Out match. Then, Sunday, Milwaukee hosts Wright State at 2 p.m.