Oct. 22, 2011

Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Kerri Schuh had 16 kills and Elizabeth Egerer added 11 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed a 25-17, 25-19, 25-23 win over Butler Saturday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The Panthers (19-4, 12-0 Horizon) have won 12-straight matches overall and 21-straight regular season league matches dating back to last season.

Milwaukee was again excellent on both offense and defense in their second 3-set sweep of the weekend. UWM hit .260 in the contest while limiting Butler to a .138 hitting clip. The Panthers had 50 kills to the Bulldogs' 34 and outdug Butler, 56-48.

Schuh added 15 digs in a strong overall effort while Morgan Potter had 14 and Kayla Price 11 to go with 46 assists.

Freshman Hannah Blanchard contributed nine kills while Mackenzie Millis and Rachel Neuberger had seven apiece to pace a balanced Panther offensive attack.

Kelly Kyle had 10 kills to lead Butler (11-12, 6-5), which had won five-straight matches entering Saturday.

"We came in very focused to play the match and we came through in a lot of ways. We really had to earn that win," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "Kerri is playing very well right now. She is very confident, she can really see the court and she is digging a lot of balls, so I am excited about that."

UWM was in control of the first set from start to finish. The Panthers scored the first five points of the frame and eventually led 12-6 on a Butler hitting error. The advantage grew to 17-10 on a kill by Schuh and was still 21-15 following a kill by Egerer. Milwaukee then finished out the set with three-straight points, including kills by Schuh and Neuberger.

Milwaukee followed a similar script in the second set. The Panthers jumped out to a 6-3 lead on a Schuh kill and extended the edge to 10-6 on a block by Egerer and Millis. The lead grew to 14-9 on a Millis kill before Butler rallied to within 16-15. But Milwaukee countered with the next five points to regain control, as a block by Neuberger and Price made it 21-15. The Bulldogs never got closer than four points from there, with a pair of kills by Millis putting Milwaukee ahead in the match by two sets.

UWM had a tougher time in the third set before pulling things out late. Milwaukee actually built a 14-10 lead on a kill by Schuh and was up 16-12 after a Butler service error. But the Bulldogs rallied to tied things at 16 and Butler eventually took a 21-20 lead on a solo block by Maureen Bamiro. The set was then tied at 23 apiece before Milwaukee came through when it counted. A kill by Blanchard pushed things to set-point and Egerer followed with a kill on the next point to keep UWM unbeaten in the Horizon League.

The Panthers return to the Klotsche Center next weekend for their final two regular season home matches. UWM entertains Youngstown State Friday at 7 p.m. before Cleveland State visits Saturday at 4 p.m