Sept. 11, 2010

Box Score

MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Ciara Jones had 18 kills and Ashley Beyer added 12 as Marquette claimed a 25-21, 25-18, 25-20 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Saturday night in the Milwaukee/Marquette Invitational at the Klotsche Center.

Elizabeth Egerer had eight kills to lead the Panthers (3-7), who could never really get on track once they lost a lead midway through the first set.

The Golden Eagles (4-4) hit .270 in the match and collected 39 kills, while UWM hit just .096 and had 27 kills.

Senior Natalie Schmitting did have three blocks for Milwaukee, giving her 421 in her career and making her the school's all-time leader in the category.

UWM was again without the services of injured starters Kerri Schuh and Maddie Sueppel, both of whom could return as soon as next week when Milwaukee opens Horizon League play against Green Bay.

"Marquette played really, really well," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "They have been sort of up and down lately and they were up tonight. Their outsides were great and their setter was really good - it was a tough match."

The Panthers looked to be in good shape for much of the first set. UWM led 8-5 after a kill by Jena Berg and extended the edge to 12-8 on a kill by Egerer. Milwaukee still led 15-12 after a Marquette error but the Golden Eagles rallied from there. MU took the lead for good at 17-16 on two-straight kills from Beyer and went up 22-18 on a kill by Jones. UWM was able to close to within 23-21 on a kill by Rachel Neuberger, but a Panther error followed by an ace from Julie Jeziorowski put Marquette ahead in the match.

The Golden Eagles had more control in the second set. They took the lead for good at 8-7 on an ace by Catherine Mayer and pushed the edge out to 13-9 on an ace by Rachel Stier. UWM could never get closer than three points after that, with a kill from Beyer pushing the lead to 17-11 and a kill by Jones making it 23-15 Marquette. Another kill from Jones finished off the set and put the Golden Eagles ahead by two sets.

Marquette then used a late surge to win the third set. The Golden Eagles actually led 16-12 midway through the frame but the Panthers used a 5-0 run to take a 17-16 advantage. UWM led for a final time at 18-17 before Marquette countered with six-straight points to stake claim to a 23-18 advantage. A Panther block did bring Milwaukee within 23-20 but a kill by Jones and a UWM hitting error wrapped things up for the Golden Eagles.

UWM now gets a full week to prepare for its league opener Saturday at Green Bay. That match begins at 7 p.m.