Sept. 13, 2013

Box Score

MADISON, Wis. - Chelsea Albers and Tiana Dockery tallied 10 kills apiece and Kansas forced 25 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee hitting errors in claiming a 25-20, 25-18, 25-10 win over the Panthers Friday morning in the opening match of the InnTowner Invitational.

Milwaukee (3-4) was very competitive with the Jayhawks (5-3) in the first two frames but then had 12 hitting errors in the third as Kansas ran away to close out the match.

Julie Kolinske had 13 kills to lead the Panthers, who were hitting .184 after the first two sets but wound up at .060 for the match.

Defensively, Myanna Ruiz had 13 digs and Taylor Golabowski 12 for Milwaukee, which also got four blocks from Nicole Latzig.

Meanwhile, the Jayhawks showed the form that landed them in the NCAA Tournament a season ago and has them picked third this season in the always-competitive Big 12.

"I believe our defense and passing was very good today, but you must execute all phases of the game against a top-25-type team," Milwaukee head coach Susie Johnson said. "We struggled on offense but we'll keep working at it and get better at putting the ball away and finishing plays."

Kansas hung on to win the first set. The Jayhawks built an early 5-3 lead but Milwaukee fought back to tie the set at 7-apiece on a kill by Nicole Latzig. KU restored a 10-8 advantage and extended it to 16-10 following a pair of UWM errors. Milwaukee didn't go away, though, pulling within 20-15 on a kill by Maggie Dunbar and to within 23-19 on a kill by Neuberger. But two kills from Dockery allowed Kansas to close out the set.

The second set followed a similar script as Kansas added to its lead in the match. The Panthers had an early 6-5 lead on a kill by Neuberger and led 8-7 following an ace from Ruiz. Kansas took the lead back at 10-9 and led 14-10 after a block. The Panthers pulled to within 15-13 on a Dunbar kill and were still within 18-15 on a kill by Ruiz. But Kansas used a quick 4-1 burst to push its edge back out to 22-16 and then finished off the set.

The Jayhawks ran away with the third set. The Panthers actually held an early 5-3 lead before Kansas ran off eight points in a row for an 11-5 lead. Milwaukee did close to within 13-8 but the Jayhawks responded again, scoring 12 of the final 14 points of the set to close out the match.

The Panthers continue play at the InnTowner Invitational later today, with Milwaukee and Bowling Green squaring off at 4:30 p.m.