Nov. 23, 2013

Box Score

  

MILWAUKEE - Julie Kolinske had 17 kills while Maggie Dunbar added 14 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee advanced to the championship match of the Horizon League Tournament with a 25-23, 25-21, 23-25, 25-15 win over Cleveland State in a semifinal match Saturday at the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers (17-10) will play Valparaiso (25-7) in Sunday's 1 p.m. title contest. The Crusaders beat Youngstown State in Saturday's other semifinal.

Taylor Golabowski had 23 digs while Rachel Neuberger had seven blocks to lead the Milwaukee defense. Kayla Price also had a stellar overall match with 49 assists, nine digs, five blocks and four kills.

After Milwaukee won the first two frames, Cleveland State started fast in the third set before holding off a huge Panther rally. But UWM then carried that comeback momentum into a dominant fourth-set performance to claim their 10th championship match berth.

"When we really struggled was in that third set and we just were kind of out of sorts and out of system," Milwaukee head coach Susie Johnson said. "But I wasn't real worried because we came back so strong halfway through that set and really almost pulled it off. So the fact that we built that momentum to go into set four and got the victory is great."

Christina Toth led three Vikings (16-13) in double figures with 12 kills. Cleveland State had just beaten Milwaukee in five sets one week ago but could not overcome 24 hitting errors and lackluster offensive performances in the second and fourth sets. In fact, UWM held CSU to a -.049 clip in the second frame and a .057 hitting percentage in the fourth set.

"Our blocking got a ton better. We were able to get that done and that's what we've been working on for a couple of weeks," Johnson said. "That helped and kind of solidifies your defense in the back row. We were able to put all of that together and that's what really pushed Cleveland back and made it hard for them.

The Panthers pulled out a very tight first set that included nine ties. Milwaukee took the lead for good at 13-12 on a kill by Price and then extended the edge to 17-13 on a kill by Kolinske. The Vikings did pull to within one point five times after that, with a kill by Kerry Winchester making it 24-23. But Dunbar answered with a kill on the next rally to push Milwaukee ahead.

Milwaukee overcame a slow start to win the second frame. The Panthers trailed 12-9 after a CSU block and were still down 15-12 after a Winchester kill. But the Panthers rallied to take a 17-16 lead on a block by Price and Neuberger and took the lead for good at 19-18 on a Kolinske kill. That turned into a six-point run for Milwaukee, with the lead hitting 23-18 on a Neuberger kill. The Vikings did pull to within 24-21, but a CSU error ended the set and put Milwaukee up 2-0.

Cleveland State started strong and then hung on to win the third set. The Vikings had early leads of 6-1 and 10-2 and then were still up 20-13 after a block. That's when Milwaukee started to rally, with an ace by Maisey Mulvey making it 20-16 and and a kill by Dunbar making it 21-20. The Panthers did stay within a point at 24-23 but could never forge a tie, as an attack error eventually finished things off for CSU.

The Panthers then wasted little time in reasserting themselves in the fourth set. Milwaukee jumped out to leads of 7-2 and 12-4 and never really looked back. The lead was 15-7 after a block by Neuberger and Myanna Ruiz and ran all the way out to 23-10 on a solo block by Nicole Latzig. After a small run by Cleveland State, the Panthers finished things off with a Viking error and an ace by Price.

Now the Panthers turn their attention toward the title match, with Milwaukee seeking an eighth league tournament title and 10th NCAA Tournament appearance.

"Valpo is a strong team. They know how to win and they are well-coached," Johnson said. "We are expecting a tough match but we are ready to go for tomorrow."