Box Score EAST LANSING, Mich. -
Myanna Ruiz collected her first collegiate triple-double and was one of three players to reach double figures in kills as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee volleyball team completed an impressive turnaround from the morning with a 25-22, 25-12, 25-21 sweep of LIU Brooklyn Friday at the Jenison Field House.
UWM (5-7) only trailed for four total points in the dominating three-set sweep over the Blackhawks (8-4) - a perennial NCAA Tournament team.
Ruiz is now the ninth Panther to tally a triple double in a match, posting an impressive line of 11 kills, 17 assists and 10 digs.
Julie Kolinske led Milwaukee in kills with 13, moving her past 1,000 total kills in her Panther career.
Kayla Price helped guide the offense with a team-high 20 assists.
UWM hit .294 for the match, including a dazzling .353 in the second set.
"This is a really good win for us," Milwaukee head coach
Susie Johnson said. "It was a very important match. LIU Brooklyn is a very solid team that beat Michigan State earlier today, so this really is a good win. We had to change our lineup a little bit before this match and it worked out really well. Myanna did an excellent job.
Taylor Golabowski had an excellent defensive match. The team had an incredible block - I think we had 14 blocks.
"The truth is, the team played really hard and was extremely competitive all the way to 25, and that's why we won. They played very determined and together and I'm really excited to see that. That's a hard turnaround to make after a tough match this morning and I'm really proud of them. I challenged them to play a complete match and they came out and just did it.
"It's very exciting and we're looking forward to playing Michigan State tomorrow night."The Blackhawks kicked off the match with an early 3-1 lead and that proved to be the largest deficit Milwaukee would face and just the second-to-last time they would trail throughout. Sophomore
Kaisa Mattson had two of her game-high six blocks in the early going to help set the tone. LIU was able to keep it close, drawing it to just 21-20, but a kill by Ruiz and then three-straight kills for
Hannah Blanchard gave UWM the early 1-0 lead.
From there it was all Milwaukee.
After dropping the first point of the second set, the Panthers went on a 10-2 run to storm to a commanding lead, highlighted by back-to-back block assists by Mattson and
Nicole Latzig. LIU drew back as close as 13-8, but UWM went on another remarkable run - this time 12-4 - to run away with it.
Things were a little closer in the third set, but it was still no trouble for Milwaukee. With the score close early, a Kolinske kill stretched it to 10-7 for the quick lead. Another Kolinske spike a little later gave the Panthers more room to work with at 17-12. LIU got as close as 22-21 late in the frame, but then it was Kolinske with a block, Mattson with an ace and Latzig with a kill for three-straight quick points to wrap up the match.
Milwaukee will play its third and final match of the Spartan Invitational Saturday, going up against No. 25 Michigan State at 6 p.m. CST.
