The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women’s volleyball team had its 10-match winning steak snapped last Tuesday when it took on non-league rival Marquette Golden Eagles.

They lost in four games, 30-25, 25-30, 30-28, 30-24.

Junior Melissa David had 18 kills to lead UWM, which also got 13 kills from fellow junior Cheryl Hegemann and 11 kills from senior Rachel Kuebbing. But it couldn’t offset the play of Marquette’s Theresa Coughlin, who had 28 kills.

The Golden Eagles did make 40 hitting errors and hit just .156 for the match, but the Panthers hit just .141 and had 31 errors of their own.

“They were making errors and we didn't take advantage,” UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. “Marquette was the best outside hitting team we have seen in a month and they did a good job of exposing some of our weaknesses. But now we can work on those as we head into the next few important weeks.”

The Panthers lost a home non-league match for just the seventh time in the last nine seasons. UWM still leads the all-time series with Marquette, 42-23.

The loss was followed by two consecutive victories against Youngstown State and Cleveland State on Friday and Saturday.

In Friday’s match against Youngstown State, Kuebbing contributed 14 kills as the Panthers cruised to win in three games, 30-16, 30-17, 30-24.

As a team, the Panthers committed only six hitting errors and hit .390 in the match.

“It was a nice combination of offense and defense tonight,” Litzau said. “Rachel (Kuebbing) was really good, especially at the net, and our block was very good. We were also very good in transition from offense to defense. It was just an all-around good effort.”

Saturday’s match was very important the Panthers. With a win against Cleveland State, UWM would win its third straight regular season title.

Again, Kuebbing was willing to give UWM the offensive power it needed to win, as she recorded 17 kills.

Teammates Sarah Moore and Leanne Felsing added to Kuebbing’s offensive efforts in the kills category. Moore had 14 kills and Felsing added 12.

“It was just a tremendous team effort,” Litzau said. “I am so proud of this team for how they fought down the stretch and how people stepped up when we needed them to. It is a great feeling to know we have won the regular season championship and we also know there is a lot of work still ahead.”

UWM plays its last regular season game versus UW-GB in Green Bay Friday at 7 p.m. before heading off to the Horizon League Tournament beginning on Nov. 17.

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