Oct. 14, 2011

Box Score

CHICAGO - Kerri Schuh had 23 kills and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee hit .255 for the match in claiming a 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 25-16 win over Loyola Friday night at the Halas Sports Center.

The Panthers (16-4, 9-0 Horizon) had a hard time shaking the pesky Ramblers (4-13, 1-7), who nearly won the first set and used a late surge to extend the match. But, in the end, the strong play of Schuh and a solid contribution from Elizabeth Egerer (14 kills) allowed Milwaukee to remain unbeaten in the league.

UWM was very strong in three of the four sets offensively, hitting as high as .393 in the second frame before finishing the match with a .344 clip in the fourth frame. Loyola kept pace in the early going, but the Panthers eventually slowed the Ramblers to a .088 percentage in the fourth set.

Anna Bartz led the Milwaukee defense with 14 digs and was one of three Panthers in double figures in the category.

Kayla Price also had a strong overall match, adding four kills and 10 digs to her tally of 49 assists.

Laura Purcell had 16 kills and Natalie Pounovich 10 to lead Loyola, which also got 23 digs from Cat Languido.

"A win is a win to me right now because these teams are challenging us. In the second round of conference there is lots of film to watch and lots of chances for teams to prepare for us," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "We didn't get in a great rhythm until the end so I am proud of the team to get the win."

UWM didn't make things easy in itself in the first set but rallied to claim the win. The Ramblers claimed leads of 8-2, 11-6 and 17-11 before Milwaukee rallied, pulling within 17-15 on a Rambler error. The Panthers then tied the frame at 18 on a kill by Schuh and finally took the lead at 23-22 on a kill by Egerer. Loyola tied the set at 23 but followed with a service error before another kill by Egerer pushed Milwaukee ahead in the match.

The Panthers had a bit of an easier time in winning the second set. Milwaukee took the lead for good at 4-3 and then led 11-4 on a kill by Rachel Neuberger. The lead was still 16-9 before Loyola mounted a bit of a rally, pulling within 16-12 on a UWM hitting error. But the Panthers scored the next three points to regain control and went ahead 21-16 on a kill by Egerer. Another Egerer kill kept the edge at 23-19 before a kill by Mackenzie Millis followed by a Loyola error put Milwaukee up by two sets to none.

Loyola got itself back in the match by pulling out the third set. After Loyola claimed an early 10-7 lead, Milwaukee fought back to take an 18-15 lead on a Rambler error. The lead was still 19-17 on a Neuberger kill and 20-19 after a block by Neuberger and Egerer. But Loyola took the lead for good at 23-22 and then closed out the frame on a pair of Milwaukee errors.

The Panthers then found their stride in the fourth set to win the match. Milwaukee took a 5-2 lead in the early going and extended the advantage to 9-5 on a block by Egerer and Millis. The lead grew to 19-12 on a kill by Egerer and to 23-14 on a kill by Schuh. Two more kills by Schuh then finished off the set and match, giving Milwaukee its 12th-straight win over Loyola.

The Panthers continue their weekend road trip Saturday by heading north to Green Bay. The match with the Phoenix starts at 4 p.m.