Sept. 23, 2011

Box Score

  

MILWAUKEE - Kerri Schuh had 12 kills and Melissa Jansen added 10 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed a convincing 25-23, 25-15, 25-14 win over Butler Friday night at the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers (10-4, 3-0 Horizon) hit a season-high .317 for the match and were never threatened in the second or third sets.

Mackenzie Millis added eight kills while hitting .700, and Elizabeth Egerer returned from injury to contribute seven kills. Kayla Price directed the offense flawlessly, tallying 37 digs.

The Panthers were also solid on defense, collecting 46 digs while holding Butler to a .141 hitting percentage. Morgan Potter had 12 digs to lead Milwaukee.

Kelly Kyle led Butler (5-9, 1-2) with nine kills.

"I have to say this is probably the best we've played this whole season, if not in a long time," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "I was really proud of the team to come out, really stay focused and finish to the end. Everything was flowing, the blocking improved throughout the match, but the hitting was what was just so great. We hit over .300 as a team, which is really, really good, and that's what we need to do to win all of these matches."

The Panthers hung on to win the first set. UWM trailed 11-7 in the early going but rallied for seven-straight points behind the serving of Millis. Milwaukee eventually led 17-13 on a block by Jansen and Rachel Neuberger and extended the lead to 21-16 on a Butler error. The Bulldogs fought all the way back to within a point four times, the final time coming at 24-23. But a kill by Jansen ended the frame, putting Milwaukee ahead in the match.

UWM surged to win the second set. The Panthers' lead was just 9-8 after a kill by Belle Obert but grew to 16-11 on a kill by Jansen. The advantage hit 21-14 on a kill by Kayla Price and Milwaukee never looked back from there. A kill by Egerer made it 24-15 and then a block by Egerer and Millis finished off the set.

Milwaukee wrapped up the match with a convincing win in the third set. The Panthers scored 11 of the first 16 points in the frame and eventually led 15-7 on a kill by Milwaukee. The lead grew to 19-9 on a kill by Schuh and to 24-12 on a solo block by Neuberger. UWM then finished off the match on a kill by Neuberger, her sixth of the night.

The Panthers wrap up the weekend and their four-match homestand with a Saturday afternoon contest against Wright State. That match begins at 4 p.m.