Sept. 30, 2011

Box Score

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Kerri Schuh had 12 kills to lead a balanced attack and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee added 10 blocks on defense in claiming an impressive 25-23, 25-20, 25-20 win over Cleveland State Friday night at Woodling Gymnasium.

The Panthers (12-4, 5-0 Horizon) won a league match in three sets for the fourth-straight time, knocking off the only other remaining unbeaten team in the league.

Rachel Neuberger added 10 kills and Elizabeth Egerer nine for Milwaukee, which hit .243 for the match and owned the late-going of each of the three sets.

Megan Barhorst had 10 kills to lead Cleveland State (10-5, 3-1), but the Panthers held Viking offensive leader Kara Koch to just six kills and a .000 hitting clip.

Overall, UWM held CSU to a .136 hitting percentage while four different Panther players had at least three blocks. Morgan Potter added 16 digs to lead a strong back-row defensive effort.

"We had a game plan and we stuck to it. This team executed the game plan perfectly," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "This is a hard place to play. It's never been easy for us in the past and often times it has gone five, so for it to go three and for us to finish it so definitively is very, very good for us."

UWM rode a strong offensive performance to a first-set win. The Panthers jumped out to an early 7-3 lead on a block by Neuberger and Egerer and still led 11-6 after a CSU error. The Vikings did close to within 11-10 but Milwaukee restored a 16-12 advantage on a block by Schuh and Neuberger. The lead was still 19-15 after a kill from Neuberger before the Vikings rallied to tie the set at 20. Milwaukee countered with the next three points to take control before a kill from Schuh wrapped things up.

Milwaukee didn't let up in the second set, breaking open a tight battle with a late surge. The frame included 13 ties and five lead changes, with UWM taking the lead for good at 16-15 on a kill by Egerer. She actually had four kills in the key burst, putting Milwaukee up 18-16. The lead grew to 22-18 on a Neuberger kill and then was 24-19 on a kill by Melissa Jansen. One more kill from Egerer finished off the frame, putting Milwaukee up two sets in the contest.

UWM used another late surge to win the third set and finish off the match. The Panthers actually held early leads of 9-5, 11-6 and 12-8 before CSU fought back to claim a 15-14 advantage. The set was still tied at 18-apiece before the Panthers broke free. Two-straight kills by Schuh made it 20-18 and forced a CSU timeout, but an ace from Taylor Golabowski continued the run. Millis and Schuh followed with kills and then a Panther block pushed the lead to 24-18. CSU scored the next two points before serving into the net to end the match.

The Panthers continue their weekend stay in Ohio with a Saturday afternoon contest at Youngstown State.