Sept. 24, 2010

Box Score

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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Elizabeth Egerer had 18 kills while Mary Beth O'Brien and Natalie Schmitting added 15 kills apiece as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed a thrilling 22-25, 31-29, 25-18, 24-26, 18-16 win over Cleveland State Friday night at Woodling Gymnasium.

The Panthers trailed 14-10 in the deciding fifth set before staging a stunning rally. Milwaukee scored four in a row to tie things at 14 and then fought off a second CSU match-point chance at 16-15. Eventually, UWM took the lead for good at 17-16 on a kill by freshman Rachel Neuberger before Neuberger and Jena Berg teamed up for a block to clinch the win.

Milwaukee had 19 total blocks in the match, with Schmitting and Kerri Schuh leading the way with nine apiece. That defensive effort limited Cleveland State, which was leading the Horizon League in offense, to a .149 hitting percentage.

UWM almost didn't need a fifth set to claim the win. Up 24-22 in the fourth set, the potential match-winning attack by O'Brien was called out of bounds in spite of what appeared to be a touch by a Cleveland State player. That disputed turn of events sparked a Viking rally that saw them claim the fourth frame, 26-24, and then nearly wrap things up with a strong surge in the fifth set.

The Panthers (5-7, 2-0 Horizon) snapped the Vikings' 10-match winning streak in a match that pitted the teams picked for the top two spots in the league preseason poll.

Kara Koch led Cleveland State (10-1, 1-1 Horizon) with 24 kills, while Lindsey Griffith added 17 and Jackie Dabbelt 10.

Milwaukee got a wide variety of other contributions. Schuh added seven kills, eight assists and 12 digs to her nine blocks. UWM's back row defense was stellar, as Morgan Potter had 18 digs, Anna Bartz added 17 and Lauren Hintze 16. Mackenzie Millis also had six blocks off the bench.

UWM trailed the entire way in the first set. The Panthers closed to within two points seven different times but could not get any closer. In the second frame, Milwaukee fought off six match-point chances before pulling things out. An ace by Schmitting put UWM up 30-29 before a kill by O'Brien evened the contest.

Milwaukee took the lead for good at 13-12 in the third set and then pulled away. In all, the Panthers scored 13 of the final 19 points of the set. In the fourth set, UWM led by as many as four points midway through the frame and then appeared to have the match won on the kill try by O'Brien. But, the four-point rally by the Vikings extended things to a fifth set.

In that fifth frame, the Vikings took a 7-6 lead on a Milwaukee service error and eventually had leads of 11-7 and 14-10 before the Panthers rallied. UWM actually had a match-point chance at 16-15 after a UWM block and then won the match on the kill by Neuberger and the block by Neuberger and Berg.

UWM continues its weekend road swing to northeast Ohio Saturday afternoon, playing at Youngstown State in a 2 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. CDT contest.