Nov. 5, 2010

Box Score

DAYTON, Ohio - Rachel Neuberger had nine kills to lead a balanced attack as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee captured a 25-17, 25-21, 25-20 win over Wright State Friday night at C.J. McLin Gymnasium.

The win, combined with Butler's loss to Green Bay Friday, puts the Panthers (18-8, 13-1 Horizon) a match-and-a-half ahead of the Bulldogs (17-8, 11-2) for the top spot in the Horizon League heading into a showdown with BU tomorrow afternoon in Indianapolis.

Jena Berg had a stellar all-around match, collecting eight kills, eight digs and 33 assists while hitting .467. Milwaukee hit an efficient .275 as a team in the contest, with Kerri Schuh and Elizabeth Egerer also adding eight kills apiece.

Meanwhile, UWM's defense limited Wright State (8-18. 3-10) to a .144 hitting clip, as the Panthers tallied 66 digs. Morgan Potter led the way with 14 and was one of four players in double figures, with Lauren Hintze and Schuh adding 12 while Anna Bartz pitched-in with 10.

Shaunda Sandifer had nine kills to lead the Raiders.

Milwaukee's Natalie Schmitting did have a pair of blocks to surpass 500 in her career, making her the only Panther player in the school's Division I history to hit the 500-block milestone.

"We just stayed the course," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "I thought Wright State played really good defense and did a good job against us. But our maturity came through and we had a mental edge. The changes we made during the match were better passing and better blocking, which was the difference.

"We were so balanced offensively, and Rachel was really hot so we kept getting her the ball. Jena did a great job running the offense and we wanted her to attack, which she did a great job with."

UWM scored seven in a row to take control of the first set, turning a 10-9 deficit into a 16-10 lead. Wright State never got closer than four after that, with a kill by Berg extending the Panther edge to 22-14. Kills from Egerer, Berg and Schuh then closed out the first frame.

Milwaukee trailed by as many as five points in the early going of the second set but took the lead for good at 18-17 on a Neuberger kill. The lead hit 23-18 on a kill by Schmitting and then two late kills from Egerer put the Panthers up by two sets.

The Panthers again trailed by as many as five points in the third set but used as 10-1 run to take control. That burst turned a 13-9 deficit into a 19-14 lead, with two kills apiece from Schuh and Mary Beth O'Brien highlighting the stretch. Wright State did close to within 21-20 on a UWM error, but the Panthers finished things off with the final four points, as a block by Schmitting and Schuh officially completed the sweep.

Saturday's match at Butler starts at 4 p.m. EDT/3 p.m. CDT and can be seen live on the Horizon League Network.