Sept. 6, 2011

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Lauren Wicinski had 23 kills and Northern Illinois pulled out just enough of the deciding points to claim a tight 27-25, 29-27, 26-24 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in front of 916 fans Tuesday night at the Klotsche Center.

The evenly-played match featured 39 ties and 12 lead changes. There were 19 ties in the first set alone, and NIU had to fight off four set-point chances to score a come-from-behind win in the second set.

Elizabeth Egerer had 15 kills while Kerri Schuh and Rachel Neuberger added 11 apiece for Milwaukee (5-2), which saw its four-match winning streak snapped.

Allison McGlaughlin added 17 kills for the Huskies (7-2), who received votes in this week's AVCA national poll.

"We were right there with that team and that's a really, really good team," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "It was at the end of those sets that we couldn't pull it off. We had them on the ropes but we just struggled at the end."

The Huskies claimed a tight win in the first set. Neither team led by more than two points and Milwaukee turned a 23-21 deficit into a 24-23 lead with three-straight points. The Huskies fought off a set-point and then had one of their own, only to see UWM force an error to keep the set alive. But, two kills by Wicinski sealed things for NIU.

Milwaukee looked like it was in control late in the second set. Three kills by Schuh and a kill by Mackenzie Millis highlighted a late run that gave the Panthers a 24-20 lead. But NIU scored the next four points to extend the set and the Huskies later fought off two more set-points. Milwaukee had to do the same, with a kill from Neuberger tying things at 27. But a kill by Sarah Angelos and a UWM error put NIU up two sets.

The Panthers built a big early lead in the third set, with two kills Neuberger sparking a run that gave Milwaukee a 9-3 advantage. The Huskies fought all the way back for a 16-13 lead and still led 22-17 on a kill by Wicinski. This time it was the Panthers that rallied, with two kills from Egerer and three NIU errors knotting things at 22. NIU went back ahead 24-22, but Milwaukee countered with the next two points to extend the match. The Huskies again made the final surge, though, with two kills by Wicinski finishing things off.

UWM returns to action this weekend by playing host to the Milwaukee Invitational at the Klotsche Center. The Panthers play Akron (1 p.m.) and Southern Mississippi (7 p.m.) Friday before squaring off with crosstown-rival Marquette (7 p.m.) Saturday.