E-mail
Print
Panthers Hush Puppies
UWM (2-0) in Horizon League Play
By Nicole Thom
Offense may sell the tickets, but defense won the game for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee volleyball team Friday night. The Panthers made it look easy in game one, but had an uphill climb ahead of them before they could pull out a 25-16, 25-21, 20-25, 25-19 win over Butler at the Klotsche Center.
Four players registered double figures in digs. Leading the pack was Kellye Zaporski, whose 22 digs marked a collegiate-high. Lauren Felsing (19), Becky Peters (18) and Lauren Hintze (14) complete the double digit foursome. Peters also had 14 kills to lead the team, followed by Maddie Sueppel (12) and Kerri Schuh (8). In addition to the list of great stats, freshman setter Samantha Trawitzke had the best game of her college career with seven kills, nine digs and 32 assists.
Milwaukee came out strong in the first set with an 8-2 lead. The Panthers built on that advantage throughout the game and Butler would fail to come within six. UWM totaled 17 kills and 24 digs in the first game making it hard for the Bulldogs to compete. Each of the Panther hitters tallied kills in the first set, led by Peters who walked away from game one with five.
The Bulldogs put up a fight in game two, but nothing that Head Coach Susie Johnson’s team could not handle. Butler grabbed the lead at 5-3, but scrappy defense from both teams kept the game close. Milwaukee took the lead back at 11-10 and held onto it for the remainder of the set. Superior net play by the Panthers brought them to game point and a kill by Sueppel finished the match.
Butler did not roll over easily in game three, controlling the net and the game with their blocking. The Panthers were quickly behind in the set 17-9 before deciding to rally behind Trawitzke and Peter’s serving. Milwaukee pulled within two, but errors supplied the Bulldogs with the confidence they needed to close out the third set, extending the match.
The fourth game was a great show of defensive skills as both teams traded points until a Butler kill gave the Bulldogs a two-point lead. The Panthers must have been ignited by the cheering section of young grade-schoolers that replaced the usual superfans, who traveled over to watch the soccer game at the midpoint in the match, because they took the next four points and never looked back. Milwaukee closed out the match with a pair of kills from Natalie Schmitting to advance their Horizon league record to 2-0.
The Panthers travel up to Green Bay for their next match on Friday to take on the Phoenix.
> Comments