Nov. 9, 2013

Box Score

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Julie Kolinske led the offense with 17 kills while Taylor Golabowski spearheaded the defense with 25 digs as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee clinched at least a share of the Horizon League regular season title with a 25-23, 24-26, 25-16, 25-21 win at Green Bay Saturday night.

The victory, combined with Valparaiso's five-set loss to Youngstown State Saturday, means the Panthers (15-9, 11-1 Horizon) sit two matches ahead of the Crusaders (23-6, 9-3) with two matches to play.

The regular season league crown is Milwaukee's ninth in the last 11 seasons.

Rachel Neuberger added 12 kills for Milwaukee, sending her past 1,000 for her career. Plus Maggie Dunbar had 11 kills and hit .500.

Golabowski's 25 digs, along with UWM's 10 blocks, helped limit Green Bay (12-13, 7-5) to a .174 hitting clip. Reigning Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week Taylor Kasal was held to 10 kills and a .116 hitting clip.

After the two teams split the first two frames, the Panthers stepped on the gas in sets three and four. Milwaukee held Green Bay to just eight kills in the third set then tallied four of its 10 blocks in the final frame.

"I was really proud of this team after the match," head coach Susie Johnson said. "We pushed our way through the stress of the match. We weren't comfortable at the beginning, but we got comfortable as the match went on. It was a team effort where we had a lot of people stepping up and we went from being stressed out to having fun."

A tight first set went the way of the Panthers. After neither team could build more than a one-point lead much of the way, Green Bay pushed ahead 21-19 and forced a Milwaukee timeout. But the Panthers quickly responded, tying things at 21-apiece on an ace from Hannah Blanchard before going ahead 22-21 on a Myanna Ruiz kill. After Green Bay tied the frame at 22, UWM went ahead for good on a Neuberger kill and then moved to set-point on a block by Neuberger and Kayla Price. After one more Green Bay point, a kill from Kolinske finished things off.

The Panthers trailed by as many as three points early in the second frame and still found themselves down 17-14 after a kill by Kasal. The Phoenix then led 22-19 after a UWM error but Milwaukee rallied to forge a 23-all tie on a Green Bay error. The set was also tied at 24-apiece after a kill by Kaisa Mattson, but the Phoenix answered with the next two points to even the match.

Milwaukee was dominant in the third frame. The Panthers jumped out to leads of 5-2 and 10-6 before pushing the lead to 15-10 on a block by Mattson and Kolinske. UWM's lead grew to 19-13 after kills by Ruiz and Dunbar and Milwaukee went up 23-15 on a Green Bay error. Another Green Bay error provided the final point of the set and pushed Milwaukee back into the lead for the match.

The Panthers then closed things out with a solid performance in the fourth set. Milwaukee grabbed an early 9-7 lead on a kill by Dunbar and went up 14-11 following an ace from Golabowski. UWM then seized control with a quick four-point burst behind the serving of Maddie Schmitz, turning an 18-16 lead into a 22-16 advantage. Green Bay was able to cut the lead back to three points but could never get closer, with a block by Price and Mattson finishing things off.

"We needed different people at certain times and they came through. We know we can't just rely on one person, we need everyone." Johnson said. "Maggie had a great run of kills and Maddie really made some big plays for us late. Julie had some key kills, Kayla settled into the match and then someone like Kaisa Mattson stepped in and played like a veteran. It was cool to watch. We knew it wasn't going to be easy and we know it won't be easy going forward, but we're improving every day."

UWM wraps up the regular season with two matches in northeast Ohio. Friday night Milwaukee plays at Youngstown State before squaring off with Cleveland State Saturday afternoon.