Nov. 3, 2012

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Anna Eytchison had 18 kills to lead three players in double figures as Loyola claimed a 26-24, 25-20, 22-25, 25-17 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Center.

Milwaukee (8-18, 3-9 Horizon) got 16 kills from Elizabeth Egerer while Anna Bartz went past 1,000 career digs but the Panthers could not fight out of a two-set hole.

UWM was hurt by 32 hitting errors as Loyola (16-10, 8-5) tallied 16 blocks. The Panthers did have 11 blocks themselves and held the Ramblers to a .196 hitting clip but Loyola came through when it counted.

Sammi Herron added 11 kills and Rachel Neuberger 10 for Milwaukee.

"We just had too many errors to pull out the win," Milwaukee head coach Susie Johnson said. "We battled and could have won that first set and we did a nice job bouncing back to win the third set. We also did some good things with our own block and forced Loyola into some errors. But, in the end, we hit into the block a lot and had a really hard time getting things going on offense."

The Ramblers won the first set after a late surge by the Panthers in a frame that included 11 ties and eight lead changes. Loyola extended its lead to 24-21 on a UWM error before Milwaukee fought back. The Panthers pushed away three set-points, eventually tying things at 24 on an ace by Bartz. But Loyola struck right back, as a block followed by another UWM error gave the Ramblers the first set.

Loyola was in control of the second set. The Ramblers scored 13 of the first 17 points of the frame and still led 17-8 on a block by Nichole Riedel and Kathleen Vogel. The advantage grew to 22-11 before Milwaukee made a late surge, pulling within 24-20 on an ace by Hannah Blanchard. But Loyola countered with a kill from Riedel to up by two sets in the match.

The Panthers got back in the match with a win in the third set. UWM broke a 13-all tie with five of the next six points, grabbing an 18-14 lead on a block by Egerer and Amber Simonton. The lead hit 22-17 on a kill by Herron and was 24-18 after a Loyola error. The Ramblers scored the next four points to make things interesting before a kill by Neuberger finished off the frame.

Loyola then finished things off with a solid performance in the fourth set. The Ramblers jumped out to leads of 9-2 and 13-5 and were never truly threatened. Milwaukee did fight back to within 16-13 on a Loyola error and was still within 20-15 on a kill by Kolinske, but the Panthers would get no closer. A kill by Eytchison then provided the final point of the match.

The Panthers will wrap up the regular season with a pair of road matches next weekend. UWM plays at Wright State Saturday and Valparaiso Sunday.