Aug. 27, 2011

Box Score  |  Match Report

TEMPE, Ariz. - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was battling from behind all night in its match against Denver, but the Panthers pulled it out in the end.

Kerri Schuh had 14 kills to lead a balanced attack and the Panthers (2-1) overcame their own .105 hitting clip by limiting the Pioneers to a .114 attack percentage as UWM claimed a 17-25, 25-15, 16-25, 25-23, 15-13 win Saturday at the ASU Sheraton Classic.

The final point in the decisive fifth set came on a service error, though a pair of late kills from Rachel Neuberger set the stage for Milwaukee's victory.

The fifth set included eight ties and UWM didn't take the lead until an ace by Julie Kolinske made it 10-9. Neuberger and Mary Beth O'Brien followed with a block on the next point to make it 11-9, and a tip-kill by Neuberger eventually made it 13-10. DU did close to within 14-13 on a kill by Kate Acker but, after a UWM timeout, the next serve went sailing well long to give the Panthers the win.

The contest was heavy on defense, with the two teams combining for 161 digs and 30 blocks while there were 69 total hitting errors. Morgan Potter led Milwaukee with 23 digs and was one of four players in double figures. Neuberger, Schuh and Julie Kolinske had six blocks apiece for the Panthers.

Elizabeth Egerer added 12 kills for Milwaukee, which also got nine kills apiece from Neuberger and O'Brien and eight from Kolinski. Kayla Price directed the offense with 41 assists while adding a collegiate-best 17 digs.

Faimie Kingsley led Denver with 15 kills, while Lyndi Johnson had 29 digs to head up the Pioneers' defense.

"We were kind of working things out. Things weren't connecting with everybody," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "Then we started connecting but their hitters were doing great so we had to adjust to that. I was really proud of this team in this match, but really in the fifth game. They were calm - really, really confident - which is good. When we played against Arizona State earlier we had struggles in the last parts of each game. Tonight we surged through to the end so that is pretty good progress."

A big late surge gave Denver the first set. UWM's final lead came at 8-7 following a DU service error before the Pioneers quickly went back ahead 14-11. Milwaukee was within 16-15 after kills from Egerer and Kolinse but that was as close as it would get. Denver finished the frame by scoring nine of the final 11 points, with late kills from Alex Turgeon, Julia Cawthra and Colleen King finishing things off.

Milwaukee did well to bounce back in the second frame. UWM bolted to an early 8-3 lead before Denver came back to claim its own 10-9 advantage. The Panthers took the lead for good at 12-11 after two-straight kills from Egerer and UWM wound up rattling off 11 points in a row. The run included two more kills by Egerer and a pair of Panther blocks, pushing Milwaukee ahead 21-11. UWM was never threatened after that, with a kill by Neuberger eventually finishing things off.

Denver responded with a convincing win in the third set. In fact, UWM never led in the frame, with the Pioneers pulling away. The DU lead was just 10-9 after an error but the Pioneers scored five in a row to push the edge to 15-9. A kill by O'Brien brought Milwaukee within 15-12 but that was as close as the Panthers would get. DU scored the next six points to go up 21-12 and was never threatened after that.

The Panthers then had to fight hard to remain alive in the match, and Milwaukee used a late rally to do just that. UWM trailed 12-8, 15-12 and 18-15 before fighting back to take a 19-18 lead on a block by Kolinske. The Panthers led 21-20 on a kill by Egerer but Denver captured leads of 22-22 and 23-22. UWM countered with the final three points of the set, though, thanks to a service error followed by two-straight kills from O'Brien.

UWM then pulled the tight fifth set with a late surge, finishing the weekend with two wins in three tries.

The Panthers return to the road next weekend, heading to Des Moines for the Sheraton Inn Drake Invitational. Milwaukee opens play in the event Friday afternoon against Wyoming.