Oct. 26, 2013

Box Score

ROCHESTER, Mich. - Julie Kolinske had 14 kills and Rachel Neuberger added 11 while hitting a collegiate-best .846 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed a 25-20, 25-21, 25-16 sweep at Oakland Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers (13-8, 9-0 Horizon) hit a season-best .409 in winning for the ninth-straight time.

Setter Kayla Price directed the Milwaukee offense flawlessly, collecting 39 assists as the Panthers hit at least .300 for the sixth time in nine league wins.

Taylor Golabowski led Milwaukee's defensive efforts with 15 digs, while Neuberger had a part in all five Panther blocks.

Cassie Pelloni had 10 kills to lead Oakland (10-15, 4-5), which simply could not slow the Milwaukee attack at any point during the match.

"This team continues to be very definitive, very determined and very sure of itself in everything it does," Milwaukee head coach Susie Johnson said. "This is not an easy trip with the travel and a short turnaround, but we continue to start the match by figuring things out and then get better and better as the match goes on. We're playing as a team, which lets us overcome any adversity we might face and really helps us always hold things together."

Milwaukee used a late surge to claim the first set. The Panthers had an early 9-6 lead following a block by Neuberger and Sammi Herron and then went up 14-9 on a kill by Kolinske. Oakland fought back to tie the frame at 15-apiece but UWM surged back ahead 20-17 after a kill from Neuberger. A kill by Kolinske pushed the lead to 22-18 and an Oakland error eventually wrapped up the set for Milwaukee.

The Panthers pulled away in the second frame. After trailing 7-5 early on, Milwaukee went ahead for good at 12-11 following a kill by Herron. That actually sparked a seven-point Panther run, with a kill by Neuberger pushing the lead to 18-11. Oakland did fight back to within 21-19 but two kills from Kolinske pushed Milwaukee to set-point. A kill from Latzig then finished the frame and put UWM in control of the match.

UWM then didn't let up in the third set. The Panthers took the lead for good at 8-7 on a Kolinske kill and led 12-8 after a kill by Neuberger. The lead grew to 16-11 following a block by Kolinske and Neuberger and hit 21-14 after a Latzig kill. Two-straight aces from Maisey Mulvey made it 24-15 and a kill by Maggie Dunbar then wrapped up the match.

"Rachel was amazing. She was hitting shots everywhere and they could not stop her," Johnson said. "We've just been so good on offense lately because we're putting the ball away. We continue to pile up a lot of kills and teams are having a hard time stopping us. We're not perfect by any means and we certainly can get better but we are playing very well."

The Panthers return home for two matches next weekend. Friday, Valparaiso visits the Klotsche Center is a match that will go a long way toward determining the regular season champion. Then, Milwaukee will celebrate Senior Day Saturday afternoon against UIC.