Oct. 29, 2011

Box Score

  

MILWAUKEE - Rachel Neuberger had 16 kills and Elizabeth Egerer added 10 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee clinched the 2011 Horizon League regular season volleyball championship with a 25-23, 25-15, 11-25, 25-14 win over second-place Cleveland State Saturday at the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers (21-4, 14-0 Horizon) have now won 14-straight matches and will host the league tournament Nov. 18-20.

This is the second-straight regular season title for UWM and the fourth in five seasons under Susie Johnson. It is also Milwaukee 12th regular season Horizon League volleyball crown overall.

Defensively, Kerri Schuh had 15 digs, Morgan Potter 14 and Kayla Price 13, though Cleveland State (16-7, 9-3) did hit .258 for the match.

Offensively, Schuh added eight kills while Mackenzie Millis added seven as the Panthers hit .238.

Kara Koch and Jackie Dabbelt had 12 kills apiece for the Vikings, who have not beaten the Panthers in Milwaukee since 1992.

Saturday, UWM looked to be in command after the first two sets. Milwaukee stumbled in the third but came out on fire in the fourth to clinch the victory.

"Again we had to earn this win and we were able to. We had a little bit of a difficult moment in that third set but we were able to come right back and I was proud of the team for that," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "To be able to clinch at this point in the season with two matches left - not that those aren't important matches because they are - but it's a great feeling to know that our team is that prepared and the focused to be able to finish like that."

Milwaukee had to fight from behind in the first set. The Panthers trailed 13-9 after a kill by Koch but rallied tie things at 17 on an ace by Schuh. Milwaukee then led 22-20 following a kill by Egerer before CSU scored the next two points to tie things up. The Panthers then countered with the next two points and wrapped up the set on a kill by Millis.

UWM had a much easier time in the second frame. The Panthers led 11-7 following a tip-kill by Kayla Price and extended the edge to 17-11 on a CSU error. Milwaukee then pushed out to a 22-12 lead after two-straight kills by Neuberger and UWM wound up winning the frame on a Viking service error.

It was all Cleveland State in the third set, as the Vikings hit .652 in cruising to the win. CSU scored 11 of the first 13 points in the frame and led 17-5 after a Panther ball-handling error. Milwaukee never got closer than 10 points after that, with the Vikings wrapping things up on a kill by Megan Barhorst.

Milwaukee answered quickly and emphatically in the fourth set. The Panthers jumped to a 5-0 lead behind strong serving from Millis and led 12-2 after an ace by Taylor Golabowski. The Vikings never got closer than nine points after that, with Milwaukee pushing its lead to 18-7 on a Schuh kill and 22-9 on a CSU error. The Panthers then finished off the set and match on a kill by Millis, clinching the league crown and keeping the possibility of an unbeaten league record alive.

UWM actually has next weekend off before wrapping up the regular season with matches at Valparaiso (Nov. 11) and UIC (Nov. 12).