Nov. 7, 2008
Contact: Greg Murphy
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Cleveland State's Liz Fazio had a match-high 11 kills, but the Vikings were swept, 3-0, at Milwaukee in Horizon League volleyball action on Friday night at the Klotsch Center.
Match scores were 25-19, 25-19, 25-17.
The loss drops CSU to 6-18 overall and 5-9 in the Horizon League, while the Panthers improved to 17-8 overall and maintained their hold on first place in the conference at 10-3.
Amy Benz and Kayla Lefeld tallied eight kills apiece for CSU, which hit .321 (14-5-28) in the first set. However, the Vikings were limited to a -.011 attack percentage over the final two sets, committing 21 errors while UWM had 19 blocks.
Jordan Bateman amassed 16 digs, while Jordan Goad recorded 30 assists and nine digs for the Vikings.
Maddie Sueppel led the Panthers with 10 kills and did not commit an attack error in 21 attempts (.436). Becky Peters finished with nine kills and 10 digs, while Lauren Felsing also had 13 digs.
The Panthers hit .216 for the match, holding CSU to a .070 percentage for the match..
UWM took a 10-7 lead in the first set on a Sueppel kill and would push the lead to 15-9 on a block. A 5-1 CSU run cut the lead back to two points (16-14), but UWM scored the next two points to extend the lead back to four points and won the set on a Sueppel kill.
Fazio gave CSU a quick 2-0 lead in the second set on back-to-back kills from Fazio. But Milwaukee battled back to knot the score at 3-3. The score remained tied at 8-8, but the Panthers scored the next six points to take a 14-8 lead and apparently seize control of the match.
However, a 6-1 run by CSU, including aces from Lefeld and Megan Barhorst, brought the Vikings back to within one point (15-14), but three consecutive points by the Panthers pushed the lead back to four (18-14). CSU could not get closer than three the rest of the set as the Panthers went ahead, 2-0.
The Panthers took control of the third set midway through, breaking a 12-12 tie with three straight points, including two kills by Sueppel, to take a 15-12 lead. UWM pushed the lead to as many as six points en route to earning the sweep.
CSU returns to action on Saturday evening when the Vikings head to Green Bay for a 6:00 p.m. CST match. The Phoenix dropped a 3-0 decision to Youngstown State on Friday night.
