Nov. 5, 2005
CLEVELAND - Senior Day didn't quite turn out like Cleveland State had planned as visiting UW-Milwaukee all but locked up its third straight Horizon League regular season title with a 32-30, 30-28, 30-28 victory on Saturday afternoon in Woodling Gymnasium. With the win, the Panthers (19-8, 11-2 HL) moved a game-and-a-half ahead of the second-place Vikings (17-8, 9-3 HL) heading into the last week of the regular season.
UWM picked up its 11th straight league win and 20th consecutive regular season victory over CSU, snapping the Vikings' seven-match conference winning streak in the process.
Cleveland State led 26-22 in game one, 25-22 in the second frame and 22-17 in the final game, before the Panthers rallied each time. UWM out-hit the Vikings .248 (64-24-161) to .197 (48-19-147) to offset 12 blocks and six aces by CSU.
"We just didn't give up," UW-Milwaukee head coach Kathy Litzau said. "I thought maybe we stole this one a little, but we we're able to finish when it mattered. If we happen to meet CSU again in the conference tournament, it should be quite a battle."
Nickole Kennedy was the only Viking to reach double-digit kills, finishing with 11. Emily Clark added nine kills and a team-high 15 digs, while Danielle Siefker tallied six kills and a match-best seven blocks.
"Milwaukee came up big when it mattered -- they were the most aggressive team that we've faced all year," CSU head coach Chuck Voss said. "We went toe-to-toe with the best team in the conference and the only difference was a point here or a point there."
The Panthers were led by Rachel Kuebbing's match-high 17 kills. Sarah Moore added 14 kills, while Leanne Felsing notched a double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs.
The Vikings close out the regular season with a trio of matches on the road. CSU will step out of conference one last time to face Kent State on Monday, Nov. 7, before traveling to Chicago to square off against UIC on Friday, Nov. 11, followed by the season finale the next afternoon at Loyola.
