Sept. 24, 2011

Box Score

  

MILWAUKEE - Elizabeth Egerer had 15 kills and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was stellar on offense in claiming a 25-16, 25-15, 25-16 win over Wright State Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers (11-4, 4-0 Horizon) hit a season-best .351 and pulled away to win each of the three sets easily.

Kerri Schuh added 12 kills for Milwaukee, which also got nine kills from Rachel Neuberger and eight from Mackenzie Millis.

UWM's defense, meanwhile, limited Wright State (2-12, 1-2 Horizon) to a .135 hitting clip, with Morgan Potter collecting 10 digs to show the way.

Heidi Splinter had 10 kills to lead Wright State.

The defending league champion Panthers are 4-0 to start league play for the second-straight season and have now won three-straight matches in three sets.

"Our team is playing very confidently right now and I am really excited we are playing well at this point," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "I think we are doing a nice job of adjusting. At the end of that match we were really good at our block. We solidified that, really reading and understanding the other team."

The Panthers used a late run to win the first set. Milwaukee never trailed in the frame and took the lead for good at 5-4 on a WSU service error. The lead grew to 14-9 on a block by Kayla Price and Neuberger and was 19-14 following a block from Millis and Schuh. The Raiders pulled to within 20-16 but Milwaukee finished things with five-straight points. An ace by Millis and kills by Melissa Jansen and Neuberger highlighted the final burst.

UWM followed a similar script in the second set, though the Panthers did have to come from behind before pulling away. Wright State led 10-7 in the early going before Milwaukee took a 13-12 lead on a WSU error. The Panthers took the lead for good at 15-14 on a kill by Schuh and UWM then finished off the set with nine-straight points. The late run included three kills apiece from Egerer and Neuberger, while the final point of the frame came on a kill by Price.

Milwaukee then overcame a slow start to pull away in the third set. The Panthers trailed 9-5 but rallied to take a 12-11 lead following consecutive kills from Egerer, Millis and Schuh. Milwaukee took the lead for good at 14-13 on another Schuh kill and turned that into a six-point run. The lead was 22-15 on a block by Neuberger and Jansen before Milwaukee closed things out with two kills from Neuberger and a service ace by Potter.

UWM will hit the road for the first time in league play next weekend, playing at Cleveland State Friday night and Youngstown State Saturday afternoon.