Oct. 15, 2011

Box Score

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Kerri Schuh had 20 kills and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee rallied after dropping the first sets to claim a 17-25, 16-25, 25-11, 25-22, 15-12 win over Green Bay Saturday afternoon at the Kress Center.

The Panthers looked they were out of it after being dominated in the first two sets. But Milwaukee (17-4, 10-0 Horizon) came to life in the third set and then dug deep for two more frames to remain unbeaten in the league.

In the decisive fifth set, the Panthers took the lead for good at 11-10 on a Green Bay error and then went up 14-11 following kills by Schuh and Mary Beth O'Brien. After one Phoenix point, O'Brien converted the final kill of the night to wrap up Milwaukee's second comeback win in the last 10 days.

Elizabeth Egerer added 14 kills to the Panther attack, while Morgan Potter had 21 digs to be one of four Panthers to reach double figures in the category. Schuh also added 16 digs and seven blocks.

Abbey Gitter had 16 kills to lead Green Bay (8-13, 4-5).

Defense is truly what turned the tide for Milwaukee. The Panthers had just 22 digs and three blocks in the first two sets but collected 57 digs and seven blocks over the final three frames. That dropped Green Bay's hitting percentage from .297 after the first two sets to its final mark of .156.

"We were having a really hard time with our defense and with our block but we were able to change that for the third, fourth and fifth set and that made a big difference," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "We are a defensive team, so to change the block and get a lot of digs - to get a lot of good digs that took away kills - made a big difference.

"Our team has a lot of confidence so they know they can keep fighting and it can turn into a win."

Not much went well for the Panthers in the first set. Milwaukee led for a final time at 9-8 but Green Bay eventually pulled out to a 21-14 lead on a kill by Gitter. The Panthers did pull to within 23-17 on a Phoenix error but Green Bay scored the next two points to go ahead in the match.

It didn't get much better for Milwaukee in the second set. The Panthers did lead 10-7 after a kill by Schuh but quickly fell down 17-11 after a run of six-straight points by the Phoenix. UWM did pull back to within 17-14 on a kill by Melissa Jansen and was within 19-16 on a kill by Rachel Neuberger, but Green Bay scored the final six points of the set to take control of the match.

The Panthers turned their play around during a dominant performance in the third set. Milwaukee built a 9-5 lead on a kill by Egerer and extended the lead to 14-6 on a kill by Schuh. Green Bay never got closer than seven points after that, with UWM's lead hitting 21-9 on a Jansen kill. The advantage grew all the way to 24-10 on a tip-kill by Kayla Price and Milwaukee closed out the frame thanks to a Green Bay hitting error.

UWM needed to dig in to extend the match further. The Panthers trailed 9-3, 13-6, 15-9 and 17-12 in the fourth set before pushing within 17-16 on a block by Neueberger and O'Brien. Milwaukee finally took the lead at 21-20 on a Green Bay error and went up 24-21 after kills by Egerer and Mackenzie Millis. Green Bay scored the next point but Schuh finished the frame with a kill, bringing the match back to even.

Neither team could break free early in the fifth set. UWM led by as many as two points and Green Bay eventually grabbed a 9-7 lead of its own. But Milwaukee had the final surge and used it to beat Green Bay for the 37th time in the last 40 meetings between the two teams.

The Panthers are back on the road next weekend, heading to Wright State Friday night and Butler Saturday afternoon.