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Panthers remain on top
Felsing sets sngle-season dig record
By Nicole Thom
A winning weekend keeps the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee volleyball team on top of the Horizon League standings with two games remaining. The young Panthers played with confidence to pull off wins against Cleveland St. and Youngstown St.
Milwaukee put on a defensive showcase during their 25-19, 25-19, 25-17 win Friday night against Cleveland St. The front line put up 11 blocks, while Becky Peters and Lauren Felsing collected 13 digs each in the back row. Maddie Sueppel pounded down 10 kills to lead the pack, and Peters added nine of her own. Preseason league favorite, Cleveland St (6-18, 5-9) couldn’t keep up with the dominant Panther squad.
The first and second sets against the Vikings played out in similar fashions. Milwaukee gradually built a lead, only to see Cleveland St. fight to come back. The Panthers would then surge near the middle of the set to put the Vikings in their place. Cleveland St. would not get close as the games wound down, and a Milwaukee kill ended both games putting them up 2-0 in the match.
Milwaukee fell behind by three in beginning of the third set, but would take advantage of Cleveland St.’s errors to gain the lead. The Panthers would never let the Vikings get close again. Kills by Natalie Schmitting and Kerri Schuh gave Milwaukee the three game sweep, and the confidence going into Saturday’s match against Youngstown St.
The Panthers (18-8, 11-3) collected 12 aces in the 22-25, 25-18, 25-19, 26-24 win over Youngstown St. Four players tallied kills in double-digits with Sueppel showing the way with 16 kills. Schmitting added 15 and Peters (14) and Schuh (10) closed out the fearsome four. Felsing also supplied Milwaukee with 25 digs, setting the UWM single-season dig record with 518 halfway through the second set and now has 542 on the season.
Milwaukee led early in the first set, but nearly perfect play by Youngstown St. took the lead for good late in the game. An ace and a kill wrapped up the first set for the Penguins, but the Panthers would not take long to recover. Milwaukee built an early lead and kept it throughout the second set. Sam Trawitzke aced Youngstown St. to expand the lead to 20-15 and the matched ended with a huge Milwaukee block.
The Panthers took quick control of the third game, not allowing the Penguins to come within striking distance. Kills by Schmitting, Peters and Sueppel closed out the set giving Milwaukee the 2-1 advantage.
A rough fourth set ended well for the Panthers, but not without hard work. Leads changed hands quickly and each team fought to take control. Strong net play and blocking kept the Panthers in the lead and eventually gave them the win.
Milwaukee will end their regular season play with two matches in Chicago this weekend against UIC and Loyola.
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